Speaker: Caine Barlow, Entheogenesis Australis, guerrillamycology.com
About: Australia has a fascinating array of Psilocybin-containing species, from wood-loving “subs” to the dung loving “Gold Tops” and “Blue Meanies”. These are also a number of other species of interest to both citizen science and academics. With the surge of academic research showing the medicinal benefits, there has also been a marked increase in people wanting to safely forage.
As with any type of foraging care needs to be taken to identify the correct species, and not pick any of the harmful lookalikes. This talk covers the species of interest, their taxonomy, their ecology, but also introduces potentially poisonous lookalikes often found in the same habitats.
This workshop will offer opportunities to ask questions, and allow the audience to share their own experience and expertise.
Bio: Caine Barlow is a Fungi Educator and Mycologist based in Melbourne, Australia. He gives regular talks on mycology, fungi genetics, fungi conservation, and teaches gourmet mushroom cultivation. He works closely with the Australian organisation Entheogenesis Australis, and is a co-founder of the US-based organisation The Entheome Foundation. Caine started foraging mushrooms in the early 1990’s, started cultivating gourmet fungi in the mid 2000’s. He completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Tasmania and a Master of Science at the University of Melbourne, where his research project focused on Conservation Mycology. He is the author of the 2024 book Wakeful Mushroom Cultivation Journal, and has written widely for organisations such as Entheogenesis Australis, DoubleBlind, ThirdWave, and Psychedelics Today. He has coauthored papers on Wood-lover Paralysis, the ecology and the genetics of Psilocybe. Caine posts regularly on his Instagram, @guerrillamycology. His website is www.guerrillamycology.com
