The London parks we’ve all visited where foragers are finding magic mushrooms

A certain type of magic plant is being found in the capital’s green spaces and autumn is the fungi’s prime time

Green fingered foragers in London are finding magic mushrooms in the city’s green spaces and sharing tips with each other on how to recognize and collect the fungi.

The trip searching mushroom hunters have reported finding magic fungi in Hyde Park, Primrose Hill and Richmond Park.

Despite being illegal to pick and possess, social media users have controversially shared tips on how to spot the high inducing mushrooms in the wild.

This mushroom pickers revelations come in the same week Boris Johnson said he will look into the positive effects that psilocybin, a psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms, provides for those with mental health problems.

In a viral Tik Tok, which has now been deleted, one man explained: “Primrose Hill always has a few mushrooms to pick. I tend to go early in the morning and usually pick a fair few.

“Towards the end of Autumn it is really hard to find any because most of them have been picked by people like me or just destroyed by accidentally being stepped on.”

The most common type of magic mushrooms in the UK in early-late autumn is the Psilocybe semilanceata or the liberty cap.

One man took to reddit to explain his London foraging, he said: “I’ve been finding (magic) mushrooms for years. Previously in Hyde Park and Richmond Park.

“I don’t want to say where I find them now because I think people will take them all. You have to be careful when picking mushrooms and make sure you know if they’re poisonous or not.

“Many people don’t know what warning signs to look out for and it could make them seriously ill to eat the wrong mushroom.”

Mushroom picking can have deadly consequences and the ones with ‘magic’ qualities sometimes have this effect.

Another danger of the drug is that when picking the mushroom it is impossible to know how strong they will be. This means you could react very badly to the mushrooms should you eat them.

For most people, the world appears distorted when they take mushrooms. Colours, sounds, objects and even time can all seem very different.

People who take larger doses of mushrooms can act unpredictably. They can laugh a lot, become fixated on certain things, be emotional or get paranoid.

Buy Magic Mushrooms UK, a Class A drug, which means it’s illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.

Possession can get you up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you life in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

A Royal Parks spokesperson said: “It is illegal to pick fungi in any of London’s eight Royal Parks. Fungi play a crucial role in the balance of the eco-system as they are natural decomposers and are an important food source for wildlife in the parks.

“However, as in all open spaces, some mushrooms can be poisonous, so we urge all visitors to abide by the law to protect the park’s biodiversity as well as their own health. Enforcement of park regulations is a matter for the police.”