CAP 1.5-4 cm broad, bell-shaped to convex; surface smooth or sometimes cracked, not viscid, brown when moist, fading to grayish or whitish as it dries; margin often wavy or split in age. Flesh thin, bruising blue or bluish-green.
GILLS Adnate to adnexed or seceding, gray to black, the faces usually mottled.
STALK 6-12 cm long, 2-4 mm thick, equal or with a slight bulb at base, usually long and slender, smooth, pallid to yellowish, grayish, or pinkish, the base brownish or tinged flesh-color; bruising bluish at least somewhat when handled.
SPORE PRINT Black; spores 12-14x8.5-11 microns, elliptical, smooth.
HABITAT: Solitary to widely scattered or in groups on or near dung in pastures; widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. It is fairly common along the Gulf Coast of the United States and also occurs Mexico and Hawaii.
In first picture notice that the gills are adnate (broadly attached to the stalk and whitish on their edges. In the second picture notice that the substrate is manure and the thick stem. In the third picture notice the substrate is a fertilized lawn and the thinner type of stem.
CAP: 2-6 cm broad, convex or bluntly conical becoming broadly convex to broadly umbonate to plane or with uplifted margin; surface smooth or wrinkled, in age sometimes breaking into scales (fissured, not viscid; color variable: brownish to reddish brown or cinnamon brown when moist, fading as it dries to tan, buff, or even whitish (or grayish from spores), often with a darker (reddish-brown to brown or dark gray) marginal zone when partially dried. Flesh thin, brownish.
GILLS:Adnate to adnexed or seceding, close, broad, at first pale watery brown or reddish-brown, darkening gradually to black; edges whitish, faces usually mottled in age.
STALK: 4-10 cm long, (1)3-6(10) mm thick, equal or tapered at either end, hollow but not fragile, brown to reddish-brown, but often appearing whitish from a fine powder, or dusted gray by spores; apex often paler; usually longitudinally striate throughout; base (and mycelium) occasionally staining faintly bluish when bruised.
SPORE PRINT: Black; spores 10-14x7-9 microns, elliptical, smooth.
HABITAT: Scattered to densely gregarious-often in small clumps-in manure, compost, and fertilized lawns; widely distributed.
EDIBILITY: Hallucinogenic-the psilocybin content varies from moderate to low, perhaps due to differences in the nitrogen concentration of the substrate.
CAP: 1-3(4)cm, distinctly bellshaped at first, soon nearly hemispheric, then convex, and becoming broadly convex in age (never fully expanding), margin incurved when young; hygrophanous, dark smoky gray, drying to more straw yellow or pale ochraceous, remaining more reddish brown at top and smoky brownish along margin; sometimes finely wrinkled, margin not appendiculate, and slightly striate, (Stamets), 1-4cm, convex, never fully expanding, margin incurved when young; hygrophanous dark cinnamon drying to pinkish buff; smooth, often wrinkled, margin even when young, translucent striate when moist, no veil remnants, (PNW keys)
FLESH: thick, firm, (PNW keys)
GILLS: adnate to adnexed, close, thin; pallid, becoming dark purplish gray-black, (Stamets), adnate to adnexed, subclose; pallid, darkening to chestnut with age, edge white, (PNW keys)
STALK: 4-6(7.5)cm x 0.3-0.4(0.6)cm, equal to more narrow toward base, hollow, brittle; grayish to ochraceous or tan at the base; pruinose, slightly striate, (Stamets), 4.5-7cm x 0.4-0.6cm, straight and slightly tapering toward the base, base not enlarged, stem hollow, cartilaginous; colored as cap but may be lighter near the top when young; pruinose, no veil remnants, top slightly striate, (PNW keys)
VEIL: no veil remnants on margin
EDIBILITY: sometimes slightly hallucinogenic
HABITAT: gregarious in grassy places (Stamets)
SPORES: dark purplish gray-black (Stamets) 12-15 x 7-9.5 microns, presumably elliptic, finely rough, presumably with germ pore, cheilocystidia 20-28(35) x 7-10 microns, pleurocystidia few or absent, not projecting beyond plane of basidia, (Stamets)
NAME ORIGIN: means ' with gills the color of chestnuts'
SIMILAR foenisecii (also in grass) but castaneifolius has slightly thicker (0.3-0.6cm) stem without enlarged base, purple-black gills, purple black spores
SOURCES: Stamets*, PNW keys
NOTES: features include bell shaped to nearly hemispheric cap, some but not all collections contain psilocybin; rare in PNW
CAP: 1.5-8 (10) cm broad, broadly conical or oval or bell-shaped (often with an umbo ) when young, gradually expanding to convex, broadly umbonate, or plane; surface smooth or with small whitish veil remnants when young, viscid when moist, soon dry, color variable: whitish with a brown to yellowish center, or entirely yellow to yellowish-buff to yellow-brown, or sometimes cinnamon-brown when young and sometimes dingy olive in old age; bruising and aging bluish; margin sometimes hung with veil remnants. Flesh firm, white, staining blue or blue-green when bruised.
GILLS: Close, adnate to adnexed or seceding to free; pallid, soon becoming gray, then deep purple-gray to nearly black; edges whitish.
STALK: 4-15 cm long, 0.4-1-5 cm thick, equal or more often thicker below, dry, white or sometimes yellowish to yellow-brown, aging or bruising blue or blue-green; smooth.
VEIL: Membranous, white or bluish-stained, usually forming a thin, fragile, superior ring on stalk which is blackened by falling spores.
SPORE PRINT: Dark purple-brown to blackish; spores 11-17x7-12 microns, elliptical, smooth, thick-walled, with a large apical germ pore. Cystidia present on faces of gills, but chrysocystidia absent.
HABITAT: Solitary or in groups on dung and manure, especially in cattle pastures; widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics-Colombian, Central America, Mexico, etc-and in the Gulf Coast region of the United States.
EDIBILITY: Hallucinogenic. Is not as powerful on a dry weight basis as Psilocybe cyanescens, but is larger.
Notice the deadly Galerina marginata right next to them. This is why proper identification is so important.
CAP: 1.5-4 (5)cm broad, soon convex to broadly convex, then plane or with an uplifted, often wavy margin; surface smooth, viscid when moist, dark brown or reddish-brown becoming caramel-brown, then fading as it dries to tan, yellowish-brown or paler; sometimes with blue or blue-green stains, especially near margin. Flesh thin, bruising blue or blue-green.
GILLS: Typically adnate but sometimes seceding, fairly close, brown or cinnamon-brown becoming dark smoky-brown or sometimes bluish-stained; edges curved; dry, whitish, but staining blue to bluish-green when handled or bruised.
VEIL: Fibrillose or cobwebby, copious but disappearing or at most forming a very slight ring or hairy zone on stalk.
SPORE PRINT: Purple-brown to purple-gray or purple-black; spores 9-12x5-9 microns, elliptical, smooth. Chrysocystidia absent on gills.
HABITAT: Widely scattered to densely gregarious on woodchips, sawdust, mulch, and humus, and on lawns rich in lignin; partial to coniferous debris, but fond of adler and eucalyptus. It is fairly common in the San Francisco bay area in cold weather (December through February),especially in landscaped areas and mulched flower beds, and is also fairly common in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
EDIBILITY: Hallucinogenic and extremely potent, especially raw.
CAP: 0.5-2.5cm broad and high, narrowly conical to bell-shaped with a pointed umbo, scarcely expanding in age, incurved and sometimes wavy in youth; extremely hygrophanous, chestnut-brown to brown or olive-brown, fading to tan, olive-buff, or even yellowish as it dries, often darkened by spores, sometimes with bluish or olive stains; at least slightly viscid when moist, smooth, margin translucent-striate
FLESH: very thin; pallid, bruises blue slightly if at all, but may age olive or slightly bluish
GILLS: adnate to adnexed or separating, crowded, narrow; pallid, soon becoming brownish or gray, then finally dark purple-brown or chocolate-brown, edges whitish
STEM: 3-10cm x 0.75-0.2(0.3)cm, equal, often curved or sinuous, pliant, stuffed with fibrous pith; whitish or with brownish base, sometimes with a bluish or blue-green tinge in age, especially at base, or may age olive or slightly bluish, bruises blue especially at base, attached mycelium may become bluish tinged, especially during drying; smooth
VEIL: absent or rudimentary (thinly cortinate), may leave obscure zone of fibrils, usually darkened by spores
ODOR: not distinctive
TASTE: slightly unpleasant, grassy
EDIBILITY: hallucinogenic, not as potent as cyanescens but more than pelliculosa, 0.2-2.4silocybin, no psilocin, 0.2-0.36 aeocystin
HABITAT: widely scattered to gregarious in pastures, tall grass, clumps of sedge grass in damper parts of fields, etc., but not dung, fall to early winter, less common in spring
SPORE DEPOSIT: dark purple-brown
MICROSCOPIC: spores 11-14 x 7-9 microns, elliptic, smooth, presumably with germ pore; basidia 4-spored, chrysocystidia absent on gills, pleurocystidia few to absent, cheilocystidia 18-35 x 4.5-8 microns, flask-shaped with an extended neck bent both ways, often forked
NOTES: features include small size, smooth sharply conical cap (which is at least slightly viscid, and is chestnut-brown to brown or olive-brown, fading to tan, olive-buff, or yellowish as it dries), stem that is whitish or with brownish base, sometimes with bluish or blue-green tinge in age, growth in tall grass, and dark purple-brown spore deposit; rarely bruises bluish because high in psilocybin not psilocin; found at least BC, WA, OR
NAME ORIGIN: means half spear-shaped, from shape of cap
SIMILAR: pelliculosa which is less narrowly conical, grows under conifers, and has a more pronounced tendency to bruise or age blue-green, like a form of Panaeolus sphinctrinus that grows inland on manure (Schalkwijk-Barendsen says semilanceata is on seacoasts only)
SOURCES: Arora, Phillips*, Lincoff(2)*, Schalkwijk-Barendsen*, Kibby*, Courtecuisse*, Stamets*, Guzman, Barron*
FAMILY: Strophariaceae of Order Agaricales
CAP: (5-) 10-20 (-35) µm in diam., conic to convex, then campanulate or subumbonate, frequently subpapillate, becoming shallowly depressed at the disc or plane in the old specimens, glabrous, but with traces of silky white veil at the margin in young stages, even to slightly translucent striate at the margin when moist, viscid to lubricous, with cuticle removable, hygrophanous, dark reddish brown or orangish brown to olivaceous brown or fulvous brown, fading out to ochraceous or pale ochre tone, staining slightly greenish-blue when injured or with the age.
GILLS: adnate or sinuate or adnexed, yellowish brown at first, soon violet brown
or chocolate brown to blackish violet, uniform or somewhat mottled, with whitish
STEM: (20-) 35-65 (-75) x (1.5-) 2-4 (-6) mm, equal or slightly enlarged at the base, cylindric or subcylindric, twisted striate at times, flexuous, glabrous to slightly
fibrillose, dry, stuffed with white mycelium to hollow, white or whitish silky to
ochraceous or brownish fibrillose; easily staining blue-green when injured or
touched, mainly on the base, which finally becomes blackish.
VEIL: as a white, thin membrane forming an annulus, fragile and persistent, rarely absent (Plate 7), thin, white, smooth below but slightly striate above, with subgelatinous margin; easily bluing along the margin.
CONTEXT (flesh): whitish or light to dark yellowish-brown, translucent to somewhat pliant in the pileus, tough in the stipe, staining blue when cut mainly in young stages. Odor and taste strong farinaceous in young stages, but weak in the adults. KOH staining the pileus and context reddish brown, negative or rose on the stipe or in young specimens.
SPORE PRINT: deep violaceous to dark violaceous purple.
SPORES: (8.2-) 9.3-10.4 (-13.5) X 6-7.1 (-7.7) x 5.5-6.6 µm, subrhomboid in face view, Subellipsoid in side view, with a hilar appendage visible and a truncate apex
with a broad germ pore, thick walled, dingy yellow brown.
BASIDIA: 16.5-33 x 5.5-8.8 µm, 4-spored, hyaline, sterigmata 3-4.4 µm long, subcylindric, with the median region slightly constricted.
CHEILOCYSTIDIA: 22-30 x 4.4-6.6 µm, abundant, forming a sterile band, hyaline, lageniform, fusiform-lanceolate or fusoid-ampullaceous, with an elongate and
flexuous neck, 1-2.2 µm in diameter, sometimes irregularly branched. Subhymenium seemingly not cellular, with yellowish brown, hyphae with pigment irregularly incrusted and distributed on the hyphae walls. Trama regular with hyaline elongate cylindric or subglobose hyphae cells. Epicutis consisting of a thick pellicle with filamentous hyphae, moderately to strongly gelatinized, hyaline or yellowish, 1.6-5 µm in diameter. Hypodermium of compact subglobose hyphae, 5-10 µm diam., hyaline or more or less colores brownish to brownish red. The hyphae of the annulus hyaline, parallel to the surface, some gelatinized, 2-9 µm diam. Yellow brown lactiferous hyphae 2-5 µm diam. present in the hypodermium. Clamp connections present on all the hyphae.
HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Scattered to gregarious in dense clusters, rarely solitary, on soil or on small plant fragments such as bark residues, or on bark mulsh of conifers, or on well decomposed manure, in grasses, gardens or lawns in the cities, rarely in grassland or meadows. Fruiting from August to December. Only known from the Northwest North America, from Vancouver (Canada) to California (U.S.A.), but especially common in Washington and Oregon states.
*Adapted from Gaston Guzman's monograph of the genus Psilocybe
Taken in part from David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified now for sale right here at the Shroomery!
All Photos Credited to Shroomydan in this post
Click here for full image Click here for full image Click here for full image
CAP: 1-4.5 cm diam., convex to subumbonate, lubricous to subviscid, glabrous, translucent striate at the margin, hygrophanous, orangish brown to yellowish brown, sometimes white when dry
FLESH: whitish to ocherous pale, blueing, odor farinaceous
GILLS: subadnate, brownish pale to dark brownish violaceous, uniform in color
STEM :15-90 × 1–7 mm, smooth above to floccose-scaly below, cylindric, equal, somewhat subbulbous, base sometimes hypogeous, whitish, with irregular pale ochre or violaceous tones below or pale reddish brown above, hollow, with white mycelium at the base.
VEIL: Annulus membraneous, white,evanescent
EDIBILITY: Hallucinogenic and potent
HABITAT: Gregarious, on wood or wood debris, in trails orplaces with herbaceous plants, in a deciduous forest. Ussually found near rivers in flood plains where wood has accumulated and thick vegetation has grown over the debris.
SPORES:(7–) 8–9 (–12) × (5.5–) 6–7 (–8.5) µm, rhomboid or subrhomboid in face view, subellipsoid in side view, thick walled, wall 0.8–1.5 µm thick, yellowish brown, with a broad germ pore at one end and a short appendage at the other.
Geographic Location: Not completely known at this time. Reported specimans from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia
NAME ORIGIN: From the Frequent Ovoid Both Pleuro- and Cheilocystidia
International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, Vol. 9, pp. 75–77 (2007)
© 2007 by Begell House, Inc.
New Species of Hallucinogenic Psilocybe (Fr.) P. Kumm.
(Agaricomycetideae) from the Eastern U.S.A.
Gastón Guzmán, Richard V. Gaines, and Florencia Ramírez-Guillén.
Specimans ussually blue very quickly and evidently when damaged. Considered difficult to find but once found plentiful.
*Please note that all psilocybin containing mushrooms are technically illegal in the United States under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Use your own discretion when picking and/or ingesting active mushrooms. Some actives have deadly look-a-likes and others, while safe, may cause prolonged periods of prison time.