Psilocybe

Taxobox
name = "Psilocybe"


image_width = 199px
image_caption = "Psilocybe azurescens"
regnum = Fungi
divisio = Basidiomycota
subdivisio = Agaricomycotina
classis = Agaricomycetes
ordo = Agaricales
familia = Strophariaceae (and Hymenogastraceae)
genus = "Psilocybe"
genus_authority = (Fr.) P. Kumm. (1871)
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = List of Psilocybe species
type_species = "Psilocybe montana"

"Psilocybe" is a genus of small mushrooms growing worldwide. This genus is best known for its species with hallucinogenic properties, widely known as "magic mushrooms", though the majority of species do not contain hallucinogenic compounds. Psilocin and psilocybin are the hallucinogenic compounds responsible for the psychoactive effects of many species in the genus.

The word "psilocybe" comes from the Greek words ψιλος + κυβη and literally means "bare headed", referring to the mushroom's plain cap. It may be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable (IPAEng|ˈsɪləˌsaɪbi; MWCD IPA| [ˈsi-lə-ˌsī-bē] ) or the second (IPAEng|saɪˈlɒsəbi; MWCD IPA| [sī-ˈlä-sə-bē] ). The final "e" is not silent. The marked difference between the Botanical Latin-based pronunciation (given here) and anglicized colloquial pronunciations (with a silent "e") is sometimes a source of confusion in oral communication about this genus.

Description

"Psilocybe" fruiting bodies are typically small, non-descript mushrooms with a typical "little brown mushroom" morphology. Macroscopically, they are characterized by their small to occasionally medium size, brown to yellow-brown coloration, with a typically hygrophanous pileus, and a spore print-color that ranges from lilac-brown to dark purple-brown (though rusty-brown colored varieties are known in at least one species [Paye Y. (2003). [http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_mycology1.shtml Genesis of the PF Redspore psilocybe.] Erowid.org (website).] ). Hallucinogenic species typically have a blue-staining reaction when the fruiting body is bruised. Microscopically, they are characterized by cutis-type pileipellis, lack of chrysocystidia, and spores that are smooth, ellipsoid to rhomboid to subhexagonal in shape, with a distinct apical germ pore. Ecologically, all species of "Psilocybe" are saprotrophs, growing on various kinds of decaying organic matter.Guzmán G. (1983). The Genus Psilocybe: a systematic revision of the known species including the history, distribution and chemistry of the hallucinogenic species. (Beihefte zur Nova Hedwigia 74.) Vaduz, LI: J. Cramer. [out of print] ISBN 3-7682-5474-7] Largent DL and Baroni TJ. (1988). How to identify mushrooms to genus VI: modern genera. Eureka, CA: Mad River Press. ISBN 0-916-422-76-3]

Classification

A 2002 study of the molecular phylogeny of the agarics by Moncalvo, et al,Moncalvo JM, et al. 2002. One hundred and seventeen clades of euagarics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23:357-400. Available from: [http://www.botany.utoronto.ca/faculty/moncalvo/117clade.pdf http://www.botany.utoronto.ca/faculty/moncalvo/117clade.pdf] ] indicates that the genus "Psilocybe" as presently defined is polyphyletic, falling into two distinct clades that are not directly related to each other. The blue-staining hallucinogenic species constitute one clade and the non-bluing species constitute the other. The type species ("Psilocybe Sic|hide=y|montana") is in the non-bluing clade. A 2006 molecular phylogenetic study of the Agaricales by Matheny, et al,Matheny PB, et al. 2006. [http://www.clarku.edu/faculty/dhibbett/Reprints%20PDFs/Mathenyetal_Agaricales_2006.pdf Major clades of Agaricales: a multi-locus phylogenetic overview.] "Mycologia" 98:982–995.] further demonstrates the separation of the bluing and non-bluing clades of "Psilocybe" in a larger, strongly supported phylogenetic tree of the Agaricales.

"Psilocybe" is placed taxonomically in the agaric family Strophariaceae based upon its spore and pileipellis morphology. The phylogenetic study by Matheny, et al, places the non-bluing "Psilocybe" and its close relatives in a basal position within the Strophariaceae, a sister taxon to a clade containing the other genera within that family. The bluing "Psilocybe", however, form a clade that is sister to "Galerina" in the newly-erected family, Hymenogastraceae. As of 2007, the bluing "Psilocybe" have not been transferred to a new genus, however. The phylogenetic study by Moncalvo, et al. has confirmed that the agaric genus "Melanotus" is simply a subgroup of the non-bluing "Psilocybe", and also points to a close relationship between the latter group and the genera "Kuehneromyces" and "Phaeogalera".

Distribution and habitat

Geographically, species in this genus are found throughout the world in most biomes, with the exception of high deserts. 60 species of "Psilocybe" occur in the United States, of which 25 are hallucinogenic. For the bluing "Psilocybe", the greatest species diversity seems to be in the neotropics, from Mesoamerica through Brazil and Chile. "Psilocybe" are found in a variety of habitats and substrates. Many of the bluing species found in temperate regions, such as "Psilocybe cyanescens", seem to have an affinity for landscaped areas mulched with woodchips and are actually rather rare in natural settings removed from human habitation. Contrary to popular belief, only a minority of "Psilocybe" species, such as "P. coprophila" and "P. cubensis", grow directly on feces. Many other species are found in habitats such as mossy, grassy, or forest humus soils.

Psychoactivity

Biochemistry and pharmacology

The blue-staining species of "Psilocybe" are characterized by the presence of psilocin and psilocybin. The blue-staining reaction, while not completely understood, is thought to be a caused by a degradation reaction of psilocin, hence the degree of bluing in a "Psilocybe" fruiting body correlates directly with the concentration of psilocin in the mushroom. Psilocybin is chemically far more stable than psilocin, the latter compound being largely lost when the mushroom is heated or dried.

(See Psilocybin for a more in-depth discussion of the pharmacology of psilocybin and psilocin.)

Some psychoactive species contain baeocystin and norbaeocystin in addition to psilocin and psilocybin.

Medical and psychiatric aspects

Among some groups of Mesoamerican natives, hallucinogenic "Psilocybe" have been used by native healers for centuries for divining the causes of illness and as part of psychological counseling. Contemporary researchers have generally preferred to use purified psilocybin in medical and psychiatric research, though in practice, whole "Psilocybe cubensis" is often used.

For details on contemporary research, see: .

History and ethnography

Hallucinogenic species of "Psilocybe" have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Hallucinogenic "Psilocybe" were known to the aboriginal Mexicans as "teonanácatl" (literally "god flesh") and were reportedly served at the coronation of Moctezuma II in 1502. After the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, was forcibly suppressed and driven underground.

By the twentieth century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Native Americans to have disappeared entirely. However, in 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in "Life" in 1957. [cite journal | author = Wasson RG | year = 1957 | title = Seeking the magic mushroom| journal = Life | issue = June 10 | pages = [http://www.imaginaria.org/wasson/life.htm article reproduced online] ] In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as "Psilocybe" and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms.

At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others.

The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Timothy Leary, and others has led to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic "Psilocybe" throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive "Psilocybe" species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating "Psilocybe cubensis" in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic "Psilocybe" from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.

Legal status

Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. [http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/list/green.pdf] Schedule I drugs are drugs with a high potential for abuse that have no recognized medical uses. This status is reflected in the drug laws of the majority of the world's nations. Possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms, including the bluing species of "Psilocybe", is therefore prohibited by extension. However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places. The legal status of "Psilocybe" spores is even more ambiguous, as the spores contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin, and hence are not illegal to sell or possess in many jurisdictions, though many jurisdictions will prosecute under broader laws prohibiting items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state have ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance. [http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/392/newmexico.shtml]

Notable species

* "Psilocybe cubensis", (= "Stropharia cubensis"); the most commonly grown and consumed "Psilocybe", due to ease of cultivation and large size of carpophores; also commonly collected throughout the tropics and subtropics, including the US Gulf Coast; nicknamed the commercial psilocybe.
* "Psilocybe semilanceata", found in northern temperate climates; nicknamed the liberty cap.
* "Psilocybe cyanescens", native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, but also found in western Europe; nicknamed the wavy-cap or wavies.
* "Psilocybe azurescens", a highly potent species native to Oregon, but popular in outdoor cultivation, and expanding its range as a result; nicknamed azies.

References

Further reading

*Furst, Peter T. 1976. Hallucinogens and Culture. San Francisco: Chandler and Sharp Publishers. Chapter Seven, The sacred mushrooms: Rediscovery in Mexico; pp 75-88. Available from: [http://www.sunrisedancer.com/radicalreader/detail.asp?iArt=4&iType=21 http://www.sunrisedancer.com/radicalreader/detail.asp?iArt=4&iType=21] ISBN 0-88316-517-1
* Metzner, Ralph (ed). 2005. Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanácatl [2nd ed] . Rochester, VT: Park Street Press. 304 pp. ISBN 1-59477-044-1
* Ott, Jonathan and Bigwood, Jeremy.1978. Teonanácatl: Hallucinogenic mushrooms of North America. Seattle: Madrona Publishers. 175 p. [out of print] ISBN 0-914842-32-3
* Stamets, Paul. 1996. Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. 245 pp. ISBN 0-89815-839-7

External links

General information

* [http://americanmushrooms.com/psilocybin.htm AmericanMushrooms.com: A New Look at Hallucinogenic (Psilocybin) Mushrooms]
* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms.shtml Erowid - Psilocybin Mushrooms]
* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_faq.shtml Erowid Psilocybe Mushroom FAQ]

Taxonomy

* [http://www.mushroomexpert.com/strophariaceae.html MushroomExpert.com Taxonomy in Transition: The Strophariaceae] - Taxonomic issues of "Psilocybe" and other stropharioid fungi.
* [http://www.entoloma.nl/html/psilocybeeng.html Machiel E. Noordeloos: "Psilocybe"] - taxonomy and characteristics of non-bluing "Psilocybe".

History and ethnography

* [http://www.stainblue.com/ The Ones that Stain Blue]
* [http://www.maui.net/~jms/chapter6.html The Sacred Mushroom Teonanácatl] - Chapter from "LSD: My Problem Child" by Albert Hofmann
* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_timeline.php Timeline of mushroom use at Erowid.org]

Legal aspects

* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_law.shtml Erowid - Psilocybin Mushrooms: Legal Status]
* [http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.AttachmentDownload&nNodeID=18268&slanguageISO=EN EMCDDA Thematic Paper: Hallucinogenic mushrooms - an emerging trend case study ] , June 26 2006

Other

* [http://www.shroomery.org/ The Shroomery] Detailed information about psilocybe mushrooms including identification, cultivation and spores, psychedelic images, trip reports, a dosage calculator and an active community.
* [http://www.mycotopia.net/ Mycotopia] Interactive Global community devoted to all things mushroom.
* [http://www.mushroomjohn.org/ Mushroom John's Tales of the Shrooms] 13,000 Images of Shrooms and related items, dozens of articles, books, and art.
* [http://psychedelics.com/psilocybe/index.html Psilocybe mushrooms] from The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances
* [http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/fungi/pimg027.htm INCHEM - Psilocybe and others] - Toxicology of psilocybin mushrooms.
* [http://www.museocivico.rovereto.tn.it/UploadDocs/104_art09-Guzman%20&%20C.pdf A Worldwide Geographical Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi]

ee also

*Psilocybin mushroom
*María Sabina