You know those mushrooms that appear in movies or fairy tale books and even in decorative pieces? We found a real one in the mountains of Madeira Island.
Good afternoon everyone!
Welcome to the blog again. And nothing better than continuing the Christmas theme, talking about…mushrooms!
Yes, mushrooms! For some of you, it may seem unusual or even uninteresting, but if you are one of me who love this small (or large) being, belonging to the Kingdom of Fungi (yes, they are not plants), you will love this post .
Without further ado, I present to you the famous red mushroom with white spots, or rather speaking: I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Amanita muscaria (applause it deserves).
Oh yeah, and isn't it that this species of mushroom doesn't only exist in movies, or in wrapping stories? Amanita muscaria is real and exists in the mountains of Madeira Island, more precisely, and in the areas of Poiso (Municipality of Funchal), Ribeiro Frio (Municipality of Santana) and Chão das Feiteiras (Machico Municipality), where they grow in cold regions. and moist, feeding on the decomposition of organic matter (just like any fungus, isn't it?).
This beautiful mushroom is predominant in forest regions with a boreal and temperate climate in the Northern Hemisphere. However, what is beautiful is also poisonous. It's true, my dears, Amanita muscaria has psychoactive and hallucinogenic properties, hence its consumption is not recommended (so it is not worth taking it home and putting it in a jar, because, I repeat, no it is a plant and would die shortly after arriving at your home).
Therefore, it is worth “just” contemplating it in nature in a symbiotic relationship with pine trees, fir trees, cedars… It is more beautiful where it belongs and, in this way, we can all see it.
On a personal basis, since I was little I have a “fall” for this being. I used to spend hours contemplating the “artificial Amanitas” that my mother would put on the Christmas tree and also on other decorations around the house.
Later, as a teenager, I saw, in a specific year that I no longer remember, the mothers of Funchal dressed in this mushroom, and I just thought to myself: “I wish I were them!”. And I was always like that, in anticipation.
Until, recently, in October, I was on the “internets” and saw one of these specimens, in a place that was familiar to me (I was in doubt between Poiso and Chão das Feiteiras), given the type of landscape that appeared in the photograph.
Without further ado and all euphoric, I "pulled" my boyfriend and we went to suspicious places looking for that one.
I tell you that the task was not easy, as they are not very common here on the island. It felt like we were looking for a needle in a haystack, until: "It's him in the back!" - Shouted my companion all excited. I tell you, when I saw the mushroom for the first time, it looked like a child in a candy store, my eyes were shining, I couldn't believe it was there in front of my eyes, live and in color.
We took “thousands of photos”. It is more from the side, from above, from below, to the center. Everything that gem was entitled to. And it's not that after discovering the first one, I see the second, the third, the fourth… And the madness set in (I emphasize again that they are hard to find, we didn't see twenty either).
In short, it was in Chão das Feiteiras that we found them, my dream came true, and we live happily ever after “spewing up photographs of Amanita muscaria through the “internets”.
And on that side, have you already seen one of these live? If so, where did they see it? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to give your feedback!
Here I wait for you for the next post!
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