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‘It didn’t seem real’: the Black mushroom hunters unearthing the US’s essential fungi
Enthusiasts say mycology offers connection, nourishment and a deeper tie to the land – and the African diaspora On her typical walk in the woods in Newton, Massachusetts , something stopped Maria Pinto in her tracks. She spotted what appeared to be a glowing yellow figure with a metallic sheen among the pine needles on the ground. It was the first time Pinto was enthralled by a mushroom – the American yellow fly agaric , a poisonous fungus that is relatively common where Pinto lives in Massachusetts. “It forced me down on my knees to examine it further, because it didn’t look real,” Pinto, a naturalist and writer, said. “It looked like it was from another dimension.” On that day in 2013, she captured the mushroom from dozens of angles on her phone. Continue reading...
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Enthusiasts say mycology offers connection, nourishment and a deeper tie to the land – and the African diaspora On her typical walk in the woods in Newton, Massachusetts , something stopped Maria Pinto in her tracks. She spotted what appeared to be a glowing yellow figure with a metallic sheen among the pine needles on the ground. It was the first time Pinto was enthralled by a mushroom – the American yellow fly agaric , a poisonous fungus that is relatively common where Pinto lives in Massachusetts. “It forced me down on my knees to examine it further, because it didn’t look real,” Pinto, a naturalist and writer, said. “It looked like it was from another dimension.” On that day in 2013, she captured the mushroom from dozens of angles on her phone. Continue reading...
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘It didn’t seem real’: the Black mushroom hunters unearthing the US’s essential fungi, Enthusiasts say mycology offers connection, nourishment and a deeper tie to the land – and the African diaspora On her typical walk in the woods in Newton, Massachusetts , something stopped Maria Pinto in her tracks. She spotted what appeared to be a glowing yellow figure with a metallic sheen among the pine needles on the ground. It was the first time Pinto was enthralled by a mushroom – the American yellow fly agaric , a poisonous fungus that is relatively common where Pinto lives in Massachusetts. “It forced me down on my knees to examine it further, because it didn’t look real,” Pinto, a naturalist and writer, said. “It looked like it was from another dimension.” On that day in 2013, she captured the mushroom from dozens of angles on her phone. Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-16T11:00:10+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: ‘It didn’t seem real’: the Black mushroom hunters unearthing the US’s essential fungi via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- ‘It didn’t seem real’: the Black mushroom hunters unearthing the US’s essential fungiThe Guardian - 2026-05-16T11:00:10+00:00
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