Psilocybe weraroa

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Psilocybe weraroa
Weraroa novae zelandiae.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. weraroa
Binomial name
Psilocybe weraroa
Borovička, Oborník & Noordel. (2011)
Synonyms [1]

Secotium novae-zelandiae G.Cunn. (1924)
Weraroa novae-zelandiae(G.Cunn.) Singer (1958)

Contents

Psilocybe weraroa, formerly Weraroa novae-zelandiae, is a secotioid fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae . [2] It is endemic to New Zealand, where it grows in native forests from rotting wood and woody debris. [3] Despite its pouch-like form this species is closely related to Psilocybe cyanescens and Psilocybe subaeruginosa . [4] As a bluing member of the genus Psilocybe it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin. [5] It has been cultivated commercially by Rua Bioscience with a view to researching potential medical applications, bringing together its traditional uses in Rongoā Māori with the recent interest in Western medicine into the medical applications of psilocin and psilocybin. [6] [7] [8]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first described in the literature in 1924 by the New Zealand-based mycologist Gordon Heriot Cunningham, under the name Secotium novae-zelandiae. [9] Rolf Singer transferred it to the genus Weraroa in 1958. [10] Phylogenetic analysis by Moncalvo (2002) [11] and Bridge et al. (2008) [5] has demonstrated the close relationship between Weraroa novae-zelandiae and the hallucinogenic blue-staining group of Psilocybe, particularly Psilocybe subaeruginosa . Phylogenetic analysis published by Borovička and colleagues (2011) showed this species is very close to Psilocybe cyanescens . Given this and the apparently distant relation with other species of Weraroa Borovička et al. (2011) suggested renaming the species Psilocybe weraroa. [4]

Cladogram depicting the phylogeny of P. weraroa and related species of Psilocybe. [4]

Etymology

The species epithet weraroa is taken from the former generic name, which refers to the type locality. The binomial Psilocybe novae-zelandiae could not be used, as it had been applied to another species in 1978 by Gastón Guzmán and Egon Horak (now Deconica novae-zelandiae ). [12] [13]

Description

Psilocybe weraroa
Information icon.svg
Gleba icon.png Glebal hymenium
Conical cap icon.svgOvate cap icon.svg Cap is conical or ovate
Bare stipe icon.svgCortina stipe icon.png Stipe is bare or has a cortina
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is purple-brown
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Psychoactive.pngEdibility is psychoactive
A cross-section of the basidiocarp. W novae-zelandiae X section.jpg
A cross-section of the basidiocarp.
Fruitbodies. Weraroa novae-zelandiae.jpg
Fruitbodies.

Pileus (Peridium) 3—5 cm. long by 1.5—3 cm. wide, roundish, ovate (wider at the base and tapering towards the end, egg-shaped) or elongated and elliptic (tapered at the base and apex with a swollen mid-section), base decurrent (extending down the stem below the insertion) or rounded and blunt, margin folded and often torn, light brown when young, becoming french-grey or pale blue-grey, sometimes pallid green in age, longitudinally fibrillose causing a finely striated appearance, becoming smooth, polished, glabrous, tacky and leathery in age, slowly bruising blue or greenish when injured, drying yellow to dingy brown. Stipe up to 40 mm. long by 6 mm. in diameter, slender, equal in width, whitish to french-grey, bruising blue or greenish with damage, yellowish-brown at the base, initially fibrillose but becoming smooth, polished and cartilaginous in age excluding at the base, hollow, flesh yellow-orange, thickening at the internal apex. Gleba sepia-brown to chocolate-brown, cellular, coarsely shaped, often elongated, laterally compressed, sparse, chambered and gill-like. Spores 11–15(17) x 5–8 μm in size, smooth, sepia-coloured to purple-brown, elliptic-ovate or elliptical in shape, rounded at one end with a thin epispore. [9]

Habitat and distribution

Solitary to crowded on decaying wood buried in forest leaf litter, often on the rotting branches of Melicytus ramiflorus . It has also been found fruiting on rotted cabbage trees and associated with decaying tree-fern fronds, native to the forests of New Zealand. [9]

Fairly abundant in the early winter and spring months in lowland mixed rainforest near Wellington and Auckland. The mushroom can be difficult to see, often buried under leaves or eaten by slugs, and it is sometimes hard to find mature specimens that are not partially eaten. [9] The species is endemic to New Zealand. [3]

Similar species

Clavogaster virescens, a close lookalike often mistaken for P. weraroa by foragers. Clavogaster virescens.jpg
Clavogaster virescens, a close lookalike often mistaken for P. weraroa by foragers.

Clavogaster virescens is similar in appearance and habitat, but the gleba form a reddish brown chambered mass enclosed inside a sack-like structure within the peridium. The stem is stout, smooth and slippery rather than fibrous, off-white to yellow, enlarged at the top where it often smoothly transitions into the pouch, and tapering towards a yellower base. The fungus does not have a bluing reaction; it is naturally blue to greenish blue, and has no psychoactive properties. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Psilocybe</i> Genus of fungi

Psilocybe is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Many species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Psilocybe baeocystis is a psilocybin mushroom of the family Hymenogastraceae. It contains the hallucinogenic compounds psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin. The species is commonly known by various names such as bottle caps, knobby tops, blue bells, olive caps.

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

Psilocybe caerulipes, commonly known as blue-foot, is a rare psilocybin mushroom of the family Hymenogastraceae, having psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds. An older synonym is Agaricus caerulipes.

<i>Psilocybe aucklandiae</i> Species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae

Psilocybe aucklandiae is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The species is known from the Auckland Region of New Zealand, where it grows from clay soils in exotic pine plantations and native forests. It is phylogenetically similar to or almost the same as Psilocybe zapotecorum from Mexico and South America. As a blueing member of the genus Psilocybe it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin.

<i>Psilocybe subaeruginosa</i> Species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae

Psilocybe subaeruginosa is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae described in 1927 and known from Australia and New Zealand. As a blueing member of the genus Psilocybe it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin.

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

Psilocybe mescaleroensis is a psychedelic mushroom which has psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds. This mushroom is closely related to Psilocybe hopii and Psilocybe cyanescens. It was brought to scientific attention by Lee Walstad.

<i>Deconica montana</i> Species of fungus

Deconica montana, commonly known as the mountain moss Psilocybe, is a common species of mushroom that usually grows in mossy and montane regions around the world. The appearance is that of a typical "little brown mushroom" with a small, brown cap and a straight, thin stipe.

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

Psilocybe stuntzii, also known as Stuntz's blue legs and blue ringers it is a psilocybin mushroom of the family Hymenogastraceae, having psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds.

Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa, also known as rhododendron psilocybe and blue-haired psilocybe, is a psilocybin mushroom of the family Hymenogastraceae having psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds. First documented in 1980 in the Pacific Northwest, it is relatively uncommon and can be distinguished from other closely related species by its smaller spores and forking cheilocystidia. Psilocybe cyanescens also has forking cheilocystidia, but less often than Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa. Psilocybe cyanofibrillosa is also distinguished from Psilocybe cyanescens by an absence of pleurocystidia. The name of this species refers to the fibrils on the Stipe (mycology) that turn bluish in age, or when handled.

Gymnopilus luteus, known as the yellow gymnopilus, is a widely distributed mushroom-forming fungus of the Eastern United States. It contains the hallucinogens psilocybin and psilocin. It is often mistaken for G. speciosissimus and G. subspectabilis.

<i>Weraroa</i> Genus of fungi

Weraroa was a genus of mushrooms from the families Hymenogastraceae and Strophariaceae. The genus was initially described by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1958 to accommodate the single species Secotium novae-zelandiae reported by Gordon Herriott Cunningham in 1924. It was thought that the genus represented an intermediary evolutionary stage between a hypogeous (underground) ancestor and the related epigeous genus Stropharia. Advances in phylogenetics and taxonomic changes since 1958 found it contained unrelated species from multiple genera. It is now considered a synonym of the genus Psilocybe.

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

Psilocybe makarorae is a species of psilocybin mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. Officially described as new to science in 1995, it is known only from New Zealand, where it grows on rotting wood and twigs of southern beeches. The fruit body (mushroom) has a brownish cap with lighter coloured margins, measuring up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) wide. The cap shape is either conical, bell-shaped, but as the mushroom grows, it expands to become convex, and it features a prominent umbo. Although the whitish stem does not form a true ring, it retains remnants of the partial veil that covers and protects the gills of young fruit bodies. P. makarorae mushrooms can be distinguished from the similar North American species Psilocybe caerulipes by microscopic characteristics such as the presence of cystidia on the gill faces (pleurocystidia), and cheilocystidia with more elongated necks. Based on the bluing reaction to injury, P. makarorae is presumed to contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin.

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

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.

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

Psilocybe subcubensis is an entheogenic species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the medicinal compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Psilocybe subcubensis was first described by Mexican mycologist Gaston Guzman. It is the pantropical sister species of Psilocybe cubensis. It is macroscopically identical to P. cubensis but has smaller spores.

<i>Cortinarius porphyroideus</i> Species of fungus

Cortinarius porphyroideus, commonly known as purple pouch fungus, is a secotioid species of fungus endemic to New Zealand. It was one of six species that appeared as part of a series depicting native New Zealand fungi on stamps, released in 2002.

<i>Psilocybe allenii</i> Species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae

Psilocybe allenii is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. Described as new to science in 2012, it is named after John W. Allen, who provided the type collection. It is found in the northwestern North America from British Columbia, Canada to Los Angeles, California, most commonly within 10 miles (16 km) of the Pacific coast.

<i>Clavogaster virescens</i> Species of fungus

Clavogaster virescens is a species of secotioid or pouch-like fungus in the family Strophariaceae. It is endemic and indigenous to New Zealand, where it grows on rotting wood in native bush and mixed native and introduced forests. It has a stout yellowish stem, and a powder blue, purplish or greenish blue cap that forms a pouch, often referred to as a peridium, enclosing reddish brown or orange chambered gleba. The species is sometimes known as the "Spindle Pouch".

References

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  2. "Index Fungorum - Names Record". Index Fungorum. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Psilocybe weraroa Borovička, Oborník & Noordel". NZOR. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Borovička J, Noordeloos ME, Gryndler M, Oborník M (2011). "Molecular phylogeny of Psilocybe cyanescens complex in Europe, with reference to the position of the secotioid Weraoa novae-zelandiae" (PDF). Mycological Progress. 10 (2): 149–55. Bibcode:2011MycPr..10..149B. doi:10.1007/s11557-010-0684-3. S2CID   36050854. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  5. 1 2 Bridge PD, Spooner BM, Beever RE, Park D-C (2008). "Taxonomy of the fungus commonly known as Stropharia aurantiacea, with new combinations inLeratiomyces". Mycotaxon. 103: 109–21. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  6. The Tairāwhiti hapū exploring indigenous psilocybin to treat methamphetamine addiction. New Zealand Drug Foundation, 24 May 2023
  7. Dunne R. Māori group receives first psilocybin cultivation license in NZ to treat substance use disorders. Mugglehead Magazine 30 October 2023
  8. Hill N (24 April 2024). "Magic mushroom trialled as rongoa to treat addiction and mental health issues". New Zealand Herald.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Cunningham GH (1924). "A critical revision of the Australian and New Zealand species of the genus Secotium". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 49 (2): 97–119. Retrieved 2023-05-18 via Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research (2004) New Zealand Fungi Names Databases.
  10. Singer R. (1958). "New genera of fungi, IX. The probable ancestor of the Strophariaceae: Weraroa gen. nov". Lloydia. 21: 45–7.
  11. Moncalvo JM, Vilgalys R, Redhead SA, Johnson JE, James TY, Catherine Aime M, et al. (2002). "One hundred and seventeen clades of euagarics". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 23 (3): 357–400. Bibcode:2002MolPE..23..357M. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00027-1. PMID   12099793.
  12. Guzmán G, Horak E (1978). "New species of Psilocybe from Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand" (PDF). Sydowia. 31 (1–6): 44–54. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  13. Redhead SA, Moncalvo J-M, Vilgalys R, Matheny PB, Guzmán-Dávalos L, Guzmán G (2007). "(1757) Proposal to conserve the name Psilocybe (Basidiomycota) with a conserved type" (PDF). Taxon. 56 (1): 255–7. JSTOR   25065762. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2013-03-01.

Further reading