This prohibition has a completely scientific reason, and the omens have nothing to do with it. Although there are a lot of superstitions around mushroom hunting.
The gathering culture of our people is rooted in such a distant past that it cannot be discerned. It is no wonder that such a thing as a trip to the forest to pick mushrooms or berries is overgrown with legends and myths. Our Slavic ancestors believed that mushrooms are generally associated with the other world: they know how to communicate with each other and turn into demons.
The poisonous and hallucinogenic properties of mushrooms have also been noticed for a very long time. And that’s why before. how to go to the forest, performed rituals, ceremonies, read security conspiracies so that the mushroom does not rob a person of strength and health. The Eskimos, by the way, still do not eat mushrooms – they believe that this is a channel of communication with the world of evil spirits, which, through the mushrooms, overhears what is happening on earth.
And then there’s the leap year. Many superstitions and prohibitions are also associated with it. It is believed that nothing good happens in such a year. However, 2020 fully justifies this confidence.
A leap year does not go well with mushrooms. On the one hand, experienced mushroom pickers claim that in leap years the harvest doubles, but half of it turns out to be poisonous. According to legend, it is at this time that dark energies appear from under the ground, which poison the mushrooms. Mushrooms collected from the edges in the shape of a circle were considered especially dangerous. Since ancient times, such a territory was called the witch’s circle. There was even a proverb: “To pick mushrooms in a leap year is to carry coffins to the churchyard.”
Curiously, mushrooms really love to grow in flocks in a semicircle. They literally devour all the vegetation nearby, saturating themselves with microelements.
Well, the superstition about poisonous dark energies has scientific confirmation. The fact is that once every four years, the mycelium (the underground part of the fungus, its rhizome of thin threads) degenerates and gives poisonous fruits. And after all, a poisonous mushroom cannot be distinguished from an edible one, these are complete doubles.
They say that especially many poisonous twins appear in russules and honey agarics. Therefore, it is better not to take these mushrooms at all.
To protect yourself from poisoning, you need to pick mushrooms in ecologically clean areas, primarily away from highways. Indeed, a critical concentration of lead and other carcinogens has accumulated in the soil for several decades. It is necessary to choose a place for a hike, taking into account the wind rose – to go where the wind does not blow from poisonous industries and large routes. It is important not to pick up overgrown mushrooms as they accumulate toxins and even radiation. In dry and hot weather, their content in mushrooms goes off scale by several dozen times.
Nutritionist, ems trainer, rehabilitation therapist, sports psychologist
“While mushrooms are a great low-calorie and nutritious food, don’t get too carried away. They are classified as heavy food because of their high chitin content. This substance is the main component of the arthropod shell. That is, the beneficial substances contained in the cell of the fruiting body of the fungus are enclosed in a chitinous shell, which is why a person cannot fully receive the necessary trace elements. Such forest delicacies are contraindicated for people with gastrointestinal tract disorders. In addition, mycologists say that often eating mushrooms can cause liver dysfunction. “