Psilocybe semilanceata is a fungus whose mushrooms, known as liberty caps, are also called magic mushrooms for their psychedelic properties. They are the most common of the psilocybin mushrooms, and among the most potent. They have a distinctive conical or bell-shaped cap, up to 2.5 cm (1.0 in) wide, with a small nipple-like protrusion on the top. Yellow to brown in color and fading to a lighter color as they mature, they feed off decaying grass roots in fields, grassy meadows, and similar habitats, particularly in wet fields that are well-fertilized by sheep and cattle manure. The mushroom is widely distributed in the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Europe, and has been reported occasionally in India, South America, and Australasia. The earliest reliable history of P. semilanceata intoxication dates back to 1799 in London. In the 1960s the mushroom was the first European species confirmed to contain psilocybin; it was later found to contain the psychoactive compounds phenylethylamine and baeocystin as well. The possession or sale of psilocybin mushrooms is illegal in many countries.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_semilanceata

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1781:

American Revolutionary War: Jack Jouett made a "midnight ride" to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of coming British cavalry who had been sent to capture them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Jouett

1839:

Qing government official Lin Zexu precipitated the First Opium War by ordering the destruction of nearly 1.2 million kg (2.6 million lbs) of opium in Humen, China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Zexu

1940:

Franz Rademacher, a Nazi government official, proposed that Madagascar should be made available for the resettlement of the Jews of Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_Plan

1963:

Buddhist crisis: South Vietnamese Army soldiers attacked protesting Buddhists in Huế, with liquid chemicals from tear gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF_chemical_attacks

1982:

An assassination attempt on Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, failed; this was later used as justification for the 1982 Lebanon War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlomo_Argov

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

guardian angel: A spirit believed to protect and to guide a particular person. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guardian_angel

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There's nothing much I can tell you about this war. It's like all wars, I suppose. The undertakers are winning it. Oh, the politicians will talk a lot about the "glory" of it, and the old men'll talk about the "need" of it — the soldiers, they just want to go home.   --Shenandoah https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shenandoah_(film)