Over a hundred species of psilocybian mushrooms have been identified. Magic Mushrooms describes the size, shape, habitat, and potency of the most popular, including Amanita muscaria or Fly agaric, Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe semilanceata or Liberty Caps, Panaeolus subbalteatus--the most prevalent of the psilocybian mushrooms--Psilocybe cyanescens or Wavy Caps, Psilocybe baeocystis, and Psilocybe stuntzii. The amazing romantic history of the discovery and modern use of magic mushrooms weaves throughout Magic Mushrooms. Stafford tells of R. Gordon Wasson's search for the sacred in the Oaxacan highlands and his mushrooms ceremonies with the curandera Maria Sabina. Soon after that came the famous Miracle of Marsh Chapel an d Timothy LEary's prison experiments in which he and several convicts actually ate mushrooms inside the MAssachusetts Correctional Institution--a maximum-security prison for young offenders. Step-by-step photographs show how mushrooms are cultivated indoors along with the methods for harvesting and drying them. Stafford discusses dosages used by 'shroom trippers and includes an entire chapter on chemistry. Included are dozens of wonderful photographs of marvelous mushrooms in all stages of development. Anyone who loves the 1960s and is curious about psychedelic fungi will enjoy Magic Mushrooms. This book is a treasure.