Psilocybe azurescens

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Psilocybe azurescens
Psilocybe azurescens 123020.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Hymenogastraceae
Genus: Psilocybe
Species:
P. azurescens
Binomial name
Psilocybe azurescens
Stamets & Gartz (1995)
Psilocybe azurescens
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svgUmbonate cap icon.svg Cap is convex or umbonate
Adnate gills icon2.svgSinuate gills icon2.svg Hymenium is adnate or sinuate
Bare stipe icon.svg Stipe is bare
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is blackish-brown to purple
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Psychoactive.pngEdibility is psychoactive

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.

Contents

Description

Habitat and distribution

P. azurescens occurs naturally along a small area of the West Coast of the United States, including in parts of Oregon and California. [1] It has been regularly found as far south as Depoe Bay, Oregon, and as far north as Grays Harbor County, Washington. Its primary locations are clustered around the Columbia River Delta: the first type collections were made in Hammond, Oregon, near Astoria. It is also quite prevalent north of the Columbia River in Washington, from Long Beach north to Westport. Some feral specimens have also been reported in Stuttgart, Germany. While infrequent, the mushroom can sometimes be found around decaying wood in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, which decriminalized psilocybin in 2020. Ilwaco, Washington also has a large population, but harvesting is a potential misdemeanor that is enforced by local law enforcement agencies.

The species' preferred environment ranges from caespitose (growing in tight, separated clusters) to gregarious on deciduous wood-chips and/or in sandy soils rich in lignicolous (woody) debris. The mushroom has an affinity for coastal dune grasses. [2] In aspect it generates an extensive, dense, and tenacious mycelial mat ( collyboid ). P. azurescens causes the whitening of wood. Fruitings begin in late September and continue until "late December and early January", according to mycologist Paul Stamets. [2] Psilocybe azurescens has been cultivated in many countries including Germany, [3] the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and its native United States (especially in California, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania). [3]

Possession and/or cultivation of this species is illegal in a number of countries, including in the United States under federal law. However, the states of Oregon and Colorado, as well as the cities of Seattle, Washington; Oakland, California; Santa Cruz, California; and Ann Arbor, Michigan have decriminalized possession of personal amounts of psilocybin mushrooms. It is considered a Class A Drug in New Zealand.

Effects

Alkaloid concentration of fresh psilocybin mushrooms [4]
NamePsilocybin [% of weight]Psilocin [% of weight]Baeocystin [% of weight]Total [% of weight]
Psilocybe azurescens
1.78
0.38
0.35
2.51
Psilocybe cubensis
0.63
0.60
0.025
1.26

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Panaeolus cyanescens</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Gymnopilus braendlei</i> Species of fungus

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Psilocybe rostrata is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae.

Psilocybe dumontii is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae.

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Psilocybe furtadoana is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae.

Psilocybe indica is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains psilocybin, a prodrug for the psychedelic tryptamine psilocin.

Psilocybe isabelae is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin.

<i>Psilocybe laurae</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Psilocybe makarorae</i> Species of fungus

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References

  1. Guzman, Gaston; Allen, John W.; Gartz, Jochen (1998). "A Worldwide Geographical Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi, An Analysis and Discussion". Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto. 14: 219, 223. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 Stamets, Paul (1996). Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN   0-9610798-0-0. p. 95.
  3. 1 2 Gastón Guzmán, John W. Allen, Jochen Gartz (1998). "A worldwide geographical distribution of the neurotropic fungi, an analysis and discussion" (PDF). Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto (14): 189–280.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (on Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto)
  4. Approximate Alkaloid Content of selected Psilocybe mushrooms, Erowid.org, retrieved 2012-10-08