Psilocybin Mushrooms – Before We Begin
Psilocybin mushrooms are attracting increasing interest from scientists and people struggling with mental health issues. Much has been said about their potential to help with depression. However, some choose to use them for purely recreational purposes, wanting to experience the lives of those who pioneered the testing of such substances in the 1960s. It should be noted, however, that both the cultivation and trade of this group of mushrooms is prohibited and carries legal consequences. Nevertheless, it’s worth learning about the species of mushrooms belonging to this loosely defined family.
Psilocybin Mushrooms – What Connects Them?
Psilocybin mushrooms are a rather loosely related group of these life forms. They can belong to completely different families. The link that unites them is the presence in their fruiting bodies of a substance commonly considered intoxicating – psilocybin. Hence the name of this group. It is an organic chemical compound with psychedelic properties. It less often causes hallucinations, but significantly influences the perception of reality by the person taking this type of substance. It also affects mood and cognitive functions. Therefore, preparations containing this substance are being tested for use in psychiatry.
Which mushrooms are considered psilocybin mushrooms? We encourage you to read on!
Psilocybe semilanceata – Psilocybe semilanceata
Also called the semilanceata mushroom, the whitethroat mushroom, and the agaric mushroom, the semilanceata mushroom is a psilocybin mushroom found in Poland, among other places. It produces small fruiting bodies with a cap up to 2 cm in diameter and wide gills. They are usually wet and range in color from olive to light brown (also with small speckles). When dried, they are light straw or even ochre. The cap shape is bluntly conical with a sharp wart in the center, eventually becoming campanulate. The stipe of the Psilocybe lanceolata is usually 3 to 15 cm high and up to 3 mm in diameter. It is flexible and cylindrical, hollow. The surface is smooth or longitudinally filamentous, and ochre.
These mushrooms are found in many regions of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. In Poland, they are relatively rare, growing in open areas, including pastures, meadows, lawns, and clearings. Fruiting occurs from August to October.
Psilocybe mexicana – Mexican Psilocybe
Psilocybe Mexicana is another mushroom species that contains psilocybin. As the name suggests, it is found primarily in Mexico and Guatemala. A characteristic feature of this Psilocybe is its small cap, usually ranging from 1.2 cm to 2 cm in diameter. The fruiting body grows up to 5 cm in length and is brownish and lamellar. Soils heavily contaminated with animal feces are considered the most fertile growing medium.
Interestingly, it was used as a hallucinogen by Central American Indians. Shamans and warriors used it in various rituals aimed at, among other things, experiencing altered spiritual states and drawing closer to the deities.
Psilocybe Cubensis – Cuban Psilocybe
This is probably one of the most widely known mushrooms containing psilocybin. Psilocybe Cubensis, contrary to appearances, grows not only in Cuba but on every continent except Antarctica. As mentioned above, it prefers pasture soils, where their droppings are abundant.
The cap of this species has a diameter of up to 10 cm. It is wide and slightly conical, but oval or bell-shaped fruiting bodies also occur. In its mature form, the veil has an umbonate surface. The stipes are usually whitish, and the cap is brown with shades of yellow. The gills of Psilocybe Cubensis are adnate, but in some specimens they detach from the surface. The stem grows up to 15 cm tall and can be 1.5 cm thick.
These are some other species worth mentioning
The above-mentioned species of psilocybin mushrooms are among the most common. However, other species that stand out include Psilocybe tampanensis, a rare mushroom found primarily in Florida and Mississippi, and Copelandia cyanescens, which grows in Hawaii and Bali, among other places. Each has slightly different effects due to the fact that their fruiting bodies contain varying concentrations of not only psilocybin but also other psychoactive substances. Many of them, however, are of interest to scientists as potential raw materials for drugs.