Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata

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Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata Washington.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. ovoideocystidiata
Binomial name
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata
Distribution of Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata.svg
Range of Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata in the contiguous U.S.
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svgUmbonate cap icon.svg Cap is convex or umbonate
Adnate gills icon2.svg Hymenium is adnate
Ring stipe icon.svg Stipe has a ring
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 ovoideocystidiata spores Ovoid-spores.pixi.jpg
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata spores

Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata, commonly known as ovoid, psychedelic ovoid mushroom, or river teacher is a psilocybin mushroom native to North America. [1] It is closely related to P. subaeruginascens from Java, P. septentrionalis from Japan, and P. wayanadensis from India. This mushroom was first documented by Richard V. Gaines in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in June 2003. [2]

Contents

Etymology

The specific epithet refers to the abundant ovoid pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia of this species. [2]

Description

Similar species

Although P. ovoideocystidiata is sometimes confused with Psilocybe caerulipes , it can be distinguished by its rhomboid spores, larger stature, earlier fruiting season, and membranous annulus. The recently described Psilocybe caeruleorhiza differs from P. ovoideocystidiata in lacking an annulus and fruiting in the late Fall and early Winter, rather than in the Spring and early Summer. [3] Both of these Psilocybe species are known only from eastern North America. Other similar Psilocybe species could be confused with P. ovoideocystidiata in its western North American range.[ clarification needed ] It can also be mistaken for species belonging to other brown-spored agaric genera such as Agrocybe , but these will lack the blue bruising reaction characteristic of psilocybin mushrooms.

Habitat and distribution

Wild Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata Psilocybe.ovoideocystidiata.green.jpg
Wild Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata

Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata is mainly native to the Eastern United States, where its range stretches from Missouri east to Rhode Island and from Georgia north to Michigan. It is particularly common in the Ohio River valley. It also occurs in Western North America from Southern California north to British Columbia, Canada. [1] As a relatively recently identified species, P. ovoideocystidiata is frequently reported to appear in new areas, leading some[ who? ] to speculate that its range is currently undergoing expansion.[ citation needed ]

This species grows on woody debris and can be found along rivers and streams, usually in overflow areas, and in man-made mulch and wood chips in urban and suburban environments. [4] It is sometimes found alongside Japanese knotweed and also tends to prefer shady areas and avoid direct sunlight.[ citation needed ] It is typically gregarious, growing in groups of several hundred individuals in one particular area, as well as in multiple small clusters of several mushrooms each, within close proximity of one another. Solitary specimens also occur on occasion.

Seasonality varies a great deal depending on what region they are found in, but in the northeastern US, they are most common in the spring, from mid-April to late-June (peaking late-May), especially after periods of steady heavy rain for several consecutive days (a common weather pattern in the eastern US during spring). However, they may occasionally fruit, as late as November. These mushrooms seem to be very sensitive to the season and fruit chiefly in the spring; very little fruiting occurs during other times of the year, even during favorable weather conditions. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Psychedelic Ovoid Mushroom (Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata)".
  2. 1 2 3 Guzmán, Gastón; Gaines, Richard V.; Ramírez-Guillén, Florencia (2007). "New Species of Hallucinogenic Psilocybe (Fr.) P. Kumm. (Agaricomycetideae) from the Eastern U.S.A.". International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 9: 75–77. doi:10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v9.i1.90.
  3. Canan, K.; Ostuni, S.; Rockefeller, A.; Birkebak, J. (2024). "Psilocybe caeruleorhiza: a new, cold weather fruiting species of psilocybin containing mushroom from the Midwest in section Aztecorum" (PDF). McIlvainea: 1–16.
  4. "A Psychedelic Surprise May Be Thriving in Your Local Garden". National Geographic. Retrieved 9 May 2024.