Psilocybe serbica

Psilocybe serbica
Psilocybe serbica var. arcana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hymenogastraceae
Genus:	Psilocybe
Species:	P. serbica
Binomial name
Psilocybe serbica M.M.Moser & E.Horak (1969)
Synonyms
Psilocybe bohemicaŠebek (1983) Psilocybe arcanaBorov. & Hlavácek (2001) Psilocybe moravicaBorov. (2003)

Psilocybe serbica Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex or conical
	Hymenium is adnate or adnexed
	Stipe has a cortina
	Spore print is blackish-brown to purple
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is psychoactive

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. ^{[1] [2]} It is closely related to Psilocybe aztecorum . ^[3] It was reported as new to science by Meinhard Moser and Egon Horak in 1969. ^[4] Molecular analysis published in 2010 has shown that P. serbica is the same species as Psilocybe bohemica described by Šebek in 1983, ^[5] Psilocybe arcana described by Borovička and Hlaváček in 2001, ^[6] and Psilocybe moravica by Borovička in 2003. ^{[7] [8]} Psilocybe serbica is common in Central Europe.

Description

Psilocybe serbica has no specific smell (somewhat raddish, but never farinaceous), and the taste is usually bitter. It is a very variable species.
Its cap is 1–4 cm (0.4–1.6 in) in diameter and obtusely conical, later becoming campanulate or convex. It expands to broadly convex or plane in age and is incurved at first then plane or decurved with age. The cap is buff-brown to dingy orangish-brown and pale ochraceous when dry. It is smooth, hygrophanous, and slightly translucent-striate when moist but not viscid and without a separable gelatinous pellicle. The flesh is whitish to cream-colored, bruising blue when injured.
Spores are purple-brown, ellipsoid, slightly flattened, and thick-walled, with a distinct germ pore. The size is very variable, mostly 10–13 × 6–7.5 μm, but also much longer.
The gills are adnate to adnexed and close, often distinctly subdecurrent. They are initially light brown, becoming dark brown with age with a purple tint, the edges remaining paler.
The stipe is 45–80 mm (1.8–3.1 in) long, and 2–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) thick. It has an equal structure, slightly enlarging at the base. It is whitish with a silky gloss and glabrous, or with some whitish remnants of the fibrillose veil.^{[ citation needed ]}

Habitat

Psilocybe serbica is found growing mostly in groups, on well decayed deciduous and coniferous wood, and along Urtica spp. or Rubus spp. on twigs, compost, plant residue in forests, usually in moist places along creeks, forest paths, and roadside verges. It is not reported to be synanthropic as Psilocybe cyanescens but rarely it may occur also on woodchips.^{[ citation needed ]}

Alkaloid content

In Psilocybe serbica var. arcana, concentrations of psilocin and psilocybin were in the range of 0.412–7.922 mg/g and 0.002–8.878 mg/g (dry weight), respectively. The concentrations of psilocin (0.027–2.485 mg/g) and psilocybin (1.553–15.543 mg/g) determined in var. bohemica were found significantly higher. ^[3] In this study, the concentration of 15.543 mg/g psilocybin in var. bohemica was the highest determined in the whole dataset and P. serbica is thus the most potent Psilocybe species in Europe.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Psilocybe germanica
• List of Psilocybin mushrooms
• Psilocybin mushrooms

References

1. Stebelska, Katarzyna (2016). "Assays for Detection of Fungal Hallucinogens Such as Psilocybin and Psilocin". Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse. pp. 909–926. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800212-4.00084-4. ISBN   978-0-12-800212-4.
2. Pepe, Marco; Hesami, Mohsen; de la Cerda, Karla A.; Perreault, Melissa L.; Hsiang, Tom; Jones, Andrew Maxwell Phineas (December 2023). "A journey with psychedelic mushrooms: From historical relevance to biology, cultivation, medicinal uses, biotechnology, and beyond". Biotechnology Advances. 69: 108247. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108247. PMID   37659744.
3. Gotvaldova, Klara; Borovicka, Jan; Hajkova, Katerina; Cihlarova, Petra; Rockefeller, Alan; Kuchar, Martin (2022). "Extensive Collection of Psychotropic Mushrooms with Determination of Their Tryptamine Alkaloids". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23 (22): 14068. doi: 10.3390/ijms232214068 . PMC   9693126 . PMID   36430546.
4. Moser M, Horak E (1968). "Psilocybe serbica spec.nov., eine neue Psilocybin und Psilocin bildende Art aus Serbien" [Psilocybe serbica spec. nov: A new psilocybin and psilocin-producing species from Serbia]. Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde (in German). 34 (3): 137–44.
5. Šebek S. (1983). "Lysohlávka ceská—Psilocybe bohemica" [Bohemian Psilocybe—Psilocybe bohemica]. Ceská Mykologie (in Czech). 37 (3): 177–81. doi:10.33585/cmy.37304.
6. Borovička J, Hlaváček J (2001). "Modrající lysohlávky (Psilocybe) v České republice I. Psilocybe arcana Borovička et Hlaváček, lysohlávka tajemná" [The bluing Psilocybe species of the Czech Republic I. Psilocybe arcana Borovička et Hlaváček, the mysterious Psilocybe]. Mykologický Sborník (in Czech). 78 (1): 2–7.
7. Borovička J. (2003). "The bluing Psilocybe species of the Czech Republic III. Psilocybe moravica sp. nova, the Moravian Psilocybe". Mykologický Sborník. 80 (4): 126–141.
8. Borovička J, Noordeloos ME, Gryndler M, Oborník M (2010). "Molecular phylogeny of Psilocybe cyanescens complex in Europe, with reference to the position of the secotioid Weraroa novae-zelandiae". Mycological Progress. 10 (2): 149–155. Bibcode:2011MycPr..10..149B. doi:10.1007/s11557-010-0684-3.

Further reading

• Borovička, Jan (2006). "New variety of Psilocybe moravica and notes on Psilocybe bohemica" (PDF). Czech Mycology. 58 (1–2): 75–80. doi:10.33585/cmy.58105.

External links

• Psilocybe serbica in Index Fungorum