Turns out that you don’t have to go out of your way to find psychedelic mushrooms if you’re walking around England, just go knock on the door at Buckingham Palace. The magic shrooms were found growing naturally in the Queen’s garden during filming of a Christmas special on the garden, prompting some questions from those on hand. From The Telegraph:
[Alan Titchmarsh] unearthed the fungi at Buckingham Palace for an ITV gardening show called The Queen’s Garden, and said: “I won’t be eating any of that.”
Titchmarsh came across the red and white spotted toadstool — called Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric — on a tour of the private 40-acre plot with ecology expert Professor Mick Crawley.
I think the truly funny bit comes from the history behind how the mushroom has been used across history. It’s a priceless bit that proves that some people will do almost anything to get a little high:
“The old-fashioned thing to do was to feed it to the village idiot, then drink his urine because you get all of the high without any of the sickness.”
Titchmarsh jokingly replies: “I think I’ll forgo that and stick to normal mushrooms.”
Then he adds: “Not something to try at home.” (via)
Now I’m sure you’ll all be dying to tune into a gardening show this Christmas, so I don’t have to spoil this for you. But for those who will be busy, you should know that Queen Elizabeth isn’t out there using magic mushrooms to get high. The mushrooms are left along for their nutrients and benefits to the other trees and plants in the garden.
The staff at the palace also made it clear that the shrooms are not used in the palace’s kitchen, even if that would be completely awesome. It’d certainly make those high tension evenings with her Corgis a lot more interesting. Squeegee that third eye, your Majesty.
(Via NBC News / The Telegraph)