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Psilocybe cubensis, commonly known as the magic mushroom, shroom, golden halo, golden teacher, cube, or gold cap, is a species of psilocybin mushroom of moderate potency whose principal active compounds are psilocybin and psilocin. It belongs to the fungus family Hymenogastraceae and was previously known as Stropharia cubensis. It is the best-known psilocybin mushroom due to its wide distribution and ease of cultivation.
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms,shrooms, or broadly as hallucinogenic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin, which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. The most potent species are members of genus Psilocybe, such as P. azurescens, P. semilanceata, and P. cyanescens, but psilocybin has also been isolated from approximately a dozen other genera, including Panaeolus, Inocybe, Pluteus, Gymnopilus, and Pholiotina.
Psilocybe is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Many species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin.
Psilocybe semilanceata, commonly known as the liberty cap, is a species of fungus which produces the psychoactive compounds psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin. It is both one of the most widely distributed psilocybin mushrooms in nature, and one of the most potent. The mushrooms have a distinctive conical to bell-shaped cap, up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, with a small nipple-like protrusion on the top. They are yellow to brown, covered with radial grooves when moist, and fade to a lighter color as they mature. Their stipes tend to be slender and long, and the same color or slightly lighter than the cap. The gill attachment to the stipe is adnexed, and they are initially cream-colored before tinting purple to black as the spores mature. The spores are dark purplish-brown en masse, ellipsoid in shape, and measure 10.5–15 by 6.5–8.5 micrometres.
Psilocybe cyanescens, commonly known as the wavy cap or potent psilocybe, is a species of potent psychedelic mushroom. The main compounds responsible for its psychedelic effects are psilocybin and psilocin. It belongs to the family Hymenogastraceae. A formal description of the species was published by Elsie Wakefield in 1946 in the Transactions of the British Mycological Society, based on a specimen she had recently collected at Kew Gardens. She had begun collecting the species as early as 1910. The mushroom is not generally regarded as being physically dangerous to adults. Since all the psychoactive compounds in P. cyanescens are water-soluble, the fruiting bodies can be rendered non-psychoactive through parboiling, allowing their culinary use. However, since most people find them overly bitter and they are too small to have great nutritive value, this is not frequently done.
Baeocystin, also known as norpsilocybin or 4-phosphoryloxy-N-methyltryptamine (4-PO-NMT), is a zwitterionic alkaloid and analogue of psilocybin. It is found as a minor compound in most psilocybin mushrooms together with psilocybin, norbaeocystin, aeruginascin, and psilocin. Baeocystin is the N-demethylated derivative of psilocybin and the 4-phosphorylated derivative of 4-HO-NMT (4-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine). The structures at right illustrate baeocystin in its zwitterionic form.
Norbaeocystin, also known as 4-phosphoryloxytryptamine (4-PO-T), is a psilocybin mushroom alkaloid and analog of psilocybin. It is found as a minor compound in most psilocybin mushrooms together with psilocin, psilocybin, aeruginascin, and baeocystin, from which it is a derivative.
Psilocybe tampanensis is a very rare psychedelic mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. Originally collected in the wild in a sandy meadow near Tampa, Florida, in 1977, the fungus would not be found in Florida again until 44 years later. The original Florida specimen was cloned, and descendants remain in wide circulation. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) produced by the fungus are yellowish-brown in color with convex to conic caps up to 2.4 cm (0.9 in) in diameter atop a thin stem up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long. Psilocybe tampanensis forms psychoactive truffle-like sclerotia that are known and sold under the nickname "philosopher's stones". The fruit bodies and sclerotia are consumed by some for recreational or entheogenic purposes. In nature, sclerotia are produced by the fungus as a rare form of protection from wildfires and other natural disasters.
Psilocybe azurescens is a species of psychedelic mushroom whose main active compounds are psilocybin and psilocin. It is among the most potent of the tryptamine-bearing mushrooms, containing up to 1.8% psilocybin, 0.5% psilocin, and 0.4% baeocystin by dry weight, averaging to about 1.1% psilocybin and 0.15% psilocin. It belongs to the family Hymenogastraceae in the order Agaricales.
Ethocybin is a homologue of the mushroom alkaloid psilocybin, and a semi-synthetic psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family. Effects of ethocybin are comparable to those of a shorter LSD or psilocybin trip, although intensity and duration vary depending on dosage, individual physiology, and set and setting.
Inocybe aeruginascens is a member of the genus Inocybe which is widely distributed in Europe. The species was first documented by I. Ferencz in Ócsa, Hungary on June 15, 1965.
Conocybula cyanopus is a species of fungus that contains psychoactive compounds including psilocybin and the uncommon aeruginascin. Originally described as Galerula cyanopus by American mycologist George Francis Atkinson in 1918. It was transferred to Conocybe by Robert Kühner in 1935 before being transferred to Pholiotina by Rolf Singer in 1950 and finally to Conocybula by T. Bau & H. B. Song in 2024. Conocybula cyanopus is recognized as the type species of Conocybula sect. Cyanopodae.
Aeruginascin, also known as 4-phosphoryloxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine (4-PO-TMT), is an indoleamine derivative which occurs naturally within the mushrooms Inocybe aeruginascens, Pholiotina cyanopus, and Psilocybe cubensis. It was discovered by Jochen Gartz.
Psilocybe samuiensis is a species of psychedelic mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae, which has psilocybin and psilocin as its main active compounds. It was placed in the section Mexicanae of genus Psilocybe by Gastón Guzmán due to its rhomboid-shaped spores. It has been found in Koh Samui, a small tropical island in Thailand, where some psychoactive species are consumed by both natives and tourists. Chao Samui rarely consume psilocybian fungi. Such local use is usually restricted to local females who do so at the request of foreigners.
Panaeolus microsporus is a species of mushroom in the Bolbitiaceae family. It is a psychoactive species of the Panaeolus genus, containing alkaloids like psilocybin and psilosin. All Panaeolus species produce serotonin and serotonin derivatives.
Psilocybe serbica is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the psychotropic compounds psilocybin and psilocin, and also related tryptamine alkaloids baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin. It is closely related to Psilocybe aztecorum. It was reported as new to science by Meinhard Moser and Egon Horak in 1969. Molecular analysis published in 2010 has shown that P. serbica is the same species as Psilocybe bohemica described by Šebek in 1983, Psilocybe arcana described by Borovička and Hlaváček in 2001, and Psilocybe moravica by Borovička in 2003. Psilocybe serbica is common in Central Europe.
Psilocybe subtropicalis is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin. Found in Mexico, it was described as new to science by mycologist and Psilocybe authority Gastón Guzmán in 1995.
Psilocybe pelliculosa is a species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, have a conical brownish cap up to 2 cm in diameter atop a slender stem up to 8 cm long. It has a white partial veil that does not leave a ring on the stem. American mycologist Alexander H. Smith first described the species in 1937 as a member of the genus known today as Psathyrella; it was transferred to Psilocybe by Rolf Singer in 1958.
4-Hydroxytryptamine, also known as N,N-didesmethylpsilocin, is a naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid. It is closely related chemically to the neurotransmitter serotonin, the psychedelic psilocin, and is the active form of the tryptamine alkaloid norbaeocystin.
References
- 1 2 Time Wave Zero (23 October 2016). "Interview with Jochen Gartz : Time Wave Zero : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
Dr. Jochen Gartz is a German chemist and mycologist who has been researching psilocybin mushrooms and other psychoactive substances since 1983. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field. We interviewed him on the Entheovision Conference that took place in Berlin on the 27th and 28th of May. In this interview he is talking about the function of the drugs in the modern society , about the ritual use of drugs nowadays and about the best and the worst experience he made with drugs.The interview is in German.
- 1 2 Bauer, Barbara E. (8 October 2019). "Jochen Gartz". Psychedelic Science Review. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- 1 2 3 K. Mandrake (1 March 2021). "Psilocybin Isn't the Only Compound in Magic Mushrooms—Here's What Else There Is". doubleblindmag.com. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
Although little is known about the effects of baeocystin in isolation, Jochen Gartz, a chemist and mycologist at the Institute for Biotechnology in Germany, made anecdotal references to its psychoactivity being comparable to psilocybin in his book, "Magic Mushrooms Around the World" published in the 1997. In somewhat of a contradiction, famous mycologist Paul Stamets recently reported on The Joe Rogan podcast in 2019 that a pure baeocystin experience during a high state of anxiety didn't cause psilocybin-like hallucinations, but did dilate his pupils and cause his anxiety to disappear. [...] On the timeline of mushroom alkaloid discovery, aeruginascin sits somewhere in the middle. It was first discovered by Jochen Gartz in 1989 in Inocybe aeruginascens (hopefully you're noticing the trend of naming alkaloids after the mushrooms they're found in by now!), though recent research in late 2020 by Klára Gotvaldová and colleagues at University of Chemistry and Technology, Czech Republic discovered the presence of this alkaloid in Psilocybe cubensis, suggesting it may be more common than was once thought. [...] As well as being chemically similar to other mushroom alkaloids, aeruginascin also shares a similar structure to bufotenidine, a chemical found in the venom of some toads. In the same paper from 1989, Jochen Gartz analysed 23 cases of accidental ingestion of Inocybe aeruginascens and found that the effects always resulted in euphoria, however as with other alkaloids described here, little is known about the effects of pure formulations of aeruginascin.
- ↑ Plazas E, Faraone N (February 2023). "Indole Alkaloids from Psychoactive Mushrooms: Chemical and Pharmacological Potential as Psychotherapeutic Agents". Biomedicines. 11 (2): 461. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11020461 . PMC 9953455 . PMID 36830997.
Some magic mushrooms, such as those belonging to the Inocybe genus, do not have reports of traditional uses and instead were discovered by accidental hallucinogenic poisonings. For example, I. aeruginascens (Table 1) was described as psychoactive in the 1980s from unintentional intoxication in Germany and Hungary because of its similarity to the edible mushroom Marasmius oreades. Despite the unintentional consumption of I. aeruginascens, the user reported an extremely pleasant experience, described as a "good trip". This feature caught the attention of the German chemist Jochen Gartz, who discovered a new alkaloid structurally related to those found in other species of magic mushrooms, although in turn, has different pharmacological properties [30].
- ↑ Jensen N, Gartz J, Laatsch H (June 2006). "Aeruginascin, a trimethylammonium analogue of psilocybin from the hallucinogenic mushroom Inocybe aeruginascens". Planta Med. 72 (7): 665–666. doi:10.1055/s-2006-931576. PMID 16673333.
- ↑ Butler, Gavin (31 March 2020). "Scientists are Trying to Redesign Magic Mushrooms so You Never Have a Bad Trip". VICE. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ↑ Bauer, Barbara E. (13 November 2020). "Aeruginascin Identified in Psilocybe cubensis Magic Mushrooms". Psychedelic Science Review. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ↑ Bauer, Barbara E. (15 March 2019). "The Entourage Effect in Magic Mushrooms". Psychedelic Science Review. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ↑ Gartz J, Appelius C, Taake C, Falk B (1996). "The Current State of Knowledge About European Species: Psilocybe Semilanceata: The Classic Species Among European Psychotropic Mushrooms" (PDF). Magic Mushrooms Around the World: A Scientific Journey Across Cultures and Time : the Case for Challenging Research and Value Systems. Los Angeles, California: LIS Publications. pp. 16–28 (27). ISBN 978-0-9653399-0-2 . Retrieved 25 January 2025.
Early controlled studies of the psychoactivity of various species in the former Czechoslovakia concluded that Psilocybe semilanceata is a more potently psychoactive species than Psilocybe bohemica, even though both species were found to contain the same amounts of psilocybin. Thus, researchers hypothesized that the mushrooms are likely to contain additional substances that contribute to the overall psychotropic effect. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that considerable amounts of baeocystin are consistently found in samples of Psilocybe semilanceata. I am also aware of an experiment whose results showed that 4 mg of baeocystin caused mild hallucinations for three hours, while 10 mg of baeocystin were found to be about as psychoactive as a similar amount of psilocybin.
- ↑ Gartz J (1992). "Further Investigations on Psychoactive Mushrooms of the Genera Psylocibe, Gymnopilus and Conocybe" (PDF). Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto. 7: 265–274.
Psilocybe semilanceata is a species that blues inconsistently. The high levels of psilocybin and baeocystin making it one of the most potent species as well as one of the most constant in amount in comparison with other species (GARTZ & MÜLLER, 1989; Semerdzieva et al., 1986). In a self experiment a small sample of baeocystin from Psilocybe semilanceata (GARTZ, 1989b) (4 mg) has caused a gentle hallucinogenic experience. [...] GARTZ J., 1989b - Biotransformation of tryptamine derivatives in mycelial cultures of Psilocybe. Journal of Basic Microbiology, 29: 347-352. [Note: There was, strangely, no actual information in the cited paper (Gartz, 1989b) about the psychoactivity of baeocystin.]
- ↑ Ott J (1996). Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Natural Products Company. p. 431. ISBN 978-0-9614234-9-0 . Retrieved 25 January 2025.
Baeocystin [...] Pharmacology: psychoptic in 10 mg oral dose; 4 mg threshold (Gartz, pers. com.); active in animals (Cerletti, Advances in Pharmacology 6B: 233, 1968)
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