The Black Morel is one of the strangest looking and sought after mushrooms in the world.

Morchella elata is a gourmet mushroom used in many recipes by both individuals and high-end restaurants. Because of this and the fact that morels are very difficult to cultivate, they are one of the few mushrooms that is hunted commercially.

Black Morel Found in British Columbia, Canada

Amanita muscaria is one of the most recognized mushrooms in the world, frequently photographed and illustrated, it’s the typical mushroom seen in fairy tale books and movies. It gets its common name “Fly agaric” from being used as an insecticide by being mixed in with a bowl of milk to kill flies.

Amanita muscaria is generally considered both a poisonous mushroom and “magic mushroom”, as it can contain chemicals that cause psychoactive effects when ingested.

Amanita muscaria photographed on Vancouver Island, British Columbia,  Canada

The liberty cap is a small psychoactive mushroom that contains both psilocybin and baeocystin. It is one of the most widespread “magic mushrooms” in the world and one of the most sought after by magic mushroom hunters.

Psilocybe semilanceata gets its common name because its cap resembles a felt hat that has been popular with many cultures through history, called the liberty hat.

Liberty Cap cluster found on Vancouver Island, Canada

Monotropa uniflora is a strange and interesting plant that some of you may have come across in your mushroom hunting adventures.

So, you’re probably asking what a plant is doing on a mushroom site? Well, what makes Monotropa uniflora so interesting is that this plant does not get its energy from the sun … instead; it’s a parasite that hosts on certain fungus. The fungus that this plant feeds off of lives in a symbiotic relationship with other plants.

Basically, the Monotropa uniflora takes a really long about way to gaining its energy from other plants, instead of producing its own.

You can see more pictures in the Monotropa uniflora gallery.