Psilocybe mexicana

Taxobox
name = "Psilocybe mexicana"

"Psilocybe mexicana" is a psychedelic mushroom, it was from this species that Dr. Albert Hoffman first isolated and named the active compounds, psilocybin and psilocin in 1958. First used by the early natives of Central America over 2,000 years ago, known to theAztecs as teonanacatl ("flesh of the gods").

Description

*Cap: (0.5)1 to 2(3) cm in diameter, conic to campanulate or subumonate and often with a slight , hygrophanous or glabrescent, even to striate at the margin, ocherous to brown or beige to straw color in age, sometimes with blueish or greenish tones, easily turning blue when injured.
*Gills: Adnate or adnexed, grey to purple-brown with whitish edges.
*Spore Print: Dark purple-brown
*Stipe: 4-10(12.5) cm tall x 1-2(3) mm thick, equal, hollow, straw color to brownish or reddish-brown, becoming darker where injured, annulus absent.
*Odor: Farinaceous
*Taste: Farinaceous
*Spores: 8-12 x 5-8 x 5-6.7µm. obovoid and smooth. Spore deposits are sepia to dark purple-brown in color.

"Psilocybe mexicana" is known to form sclerotia, which are masses of mycelium harder than normal. Indeed, the fungus has an exceptional ability for forming sclerotia.

Distribution and habitat

"Psilocybe mexicana" Solitary or in small groups among moss along roadsides and trails, humid meadows or cornfields, particularly in the grassy areas bordering deciduous forests, andlimestone regions. Common at elevations between 1000-1800 feet, rare in lower elevations, known only from Mexico and Guatemala. Fruiting takes place from May to October.

Consumption and cultivation

Like several other psychedelic mushrooms in the same genus, "P. mexicana" has been consumed by indigenous Central American peoples for its entheogenic effects. In the Nahuatl language, the fungus is known as "Teonanácatl"—agglutinative form of the words teó(ti) ("god") and nanácatl ("mushroom")—"god-mushroom."

In the western world "p. mexicana" is traded under pseudonym "truffles".