Description

PSILOCYBE CYANESCENS 

Psilocybe cyanescens are popularly known as the wavy caps mushroom. It is one of many species of mushrooms known as “magic mushrooms” due to their psychedelic effects.  Wavy caps mushrooms are noted for their high psilocybin content and potency.

These mushrooms grow in moderate wet climates and are especially common in Northwestern Europe and the United Kingdom, and in the Pacific Northwest section of North America.

The color of the wavy mushroom caps ranges from light to medium brown when the mushroom is growing. The mushroom fades to cream or yellowish when dried. The caps bruise easily and will turn bluish greenish if bruised.

The caps are usually a half-inch to 2 inches across. They start as convex-shaped but flatten out and then become wavy as they mature. They are slimy and shiny when wet. The cap margin is thick, and it hangs loosely over the gills.

PSILOCYBE CYANESCENS AUSTRALIA

The stems of the Psilocybe Cyanescens are about a quarter-inch wide and grow between 1.5 and 3 inches tall. The stem is chalk white, circular, and fibrous. Some wavy mushrooms have a stem that is wider at the top and narrower in the middle. When the partial veil of the mushroom sheds, it leaves an evanescent ring on the stem.

Its spores are smooth and ellipsoidal. Deposited Psilocybe Cyanescens pores are dark purple or brownish.

They mainly grow in places rich in ligneous material such as on mulchy areas, coniferous woods, leaf litter, or sawdust. They can also be found in mulched gardens and plant beds. Mostly, they fruit in lower temperatures, such as during fall. They can grow solitarily but have also been found in large clusters.

The wavy cap mushrooms found in the Pacific Northwest are actually a very closely related species called psilocybe allenil.  Psilocybe allenil and psilocybe cyanescens are so similar that their differences can only be determined with a microscope.  They both have the same psychedelic effects.  Therefore, mushroom foragers consider both species to be wavy cap mushrooms.