Mushroom hunter Dennis Sheridan, Los Osos, California

Los Osos Mycologist Dennis Sheradin studied biology at Cal Poly Pomona, moved to work at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and became a photographer of the natural world, including insects, reptiles, amphibians, plants, and yes, mushrooms. His photos have appeared in National Geographic, Ranger Rick, and California Wild, and he is active in field monitoring and DNA collecting for mushrooms around the world. He spoke with me about how mycelium helps plants talk to each other, how he encourages people to take responsibility for catching their own edible mushrooms, and yes, quite a bit about psilocybin and microdosing - and macrodosing - magic mushrooms. Check the show notes on letsgetconsumed dot com for links to the books he mentions here, as well as links to the various organizations for which Dennis leads mushroom walks on the Central Coast.

Website: dennissheridan.com

Resources mentioned:

• Morro Coast Audubon Society

• Small Wilderness Area Preservation (SWAP)

• SLO Botanical Garden

• California Native Plant Society

• “Mushrooms Demystified”
  David Arora

• “All that the rain promises and more”
  David Arora

• “The entangled web”
  Merlin Sheldrake

• “How to change your mind” Michael Pollan

• iNaturalist mushroom identifying app