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Psilocybe Mushrooms

These images appear in the book Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World by Paul Stamets. They are for informational purposes only and should not be used alone for identification. All photographs are copyrighted by Paul Stamets, all rights reserved, not for re-distribution without written permission.

Psilocybe azurescens

Common Names

"Astoriensis"
"Flying Saucer Mushroom"
"Indigo Psilocybe
"Blue Runners"
"Blue Angels"

Habitat
This mushroom naturally grows, often prolifically, along the northern Oregon Coast near Astoria, Oregon, favoring the beachland interface. Psilocybe azurescens has a strong affection for dune grasses, especially Ammophila maritima, with which it is closely associated. Generating an extensive, dense and tenacious mycelial mat, P. azurescens causes the whitening of wood. Fruitings begin in late September and continue well after the first frost, often fruiting into late December and early January. An adaptive species, outdoor beds have been established with ease in California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Ohio.

Psilocybe baeocystis

Common Names

"Baeos"
"Knobby Tops"

Habitat
Found on decaying conifer mulch, in wood chips, or in lawns with high lignin content. Occasionally growing from fallen seed cones of Douglas fir. Found in the fall to early winter and rarely in the spring. (I once found it as late as June 20.) First reported from Oregon, common in Washington, British Columbia, and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

Psilocybe cubensis

Common Names

"Golden Tops"
"Cubies"
"San Isidros"
"Hongos Kentesh"

Habitat
Found throughout the southeastern United States, Mexico, Cuba, Central America, Northern South America, and throughout the subtropical Far East including India, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and regions of Australia (Queensland). Typically, the largest fruitings of this species are seen in the two months prior to the hottest period during the year. In the southeastern United States, May and June are the best months for picking, although they can be found up until January.

Psilocybe cyanescens

Common Names

"Cyans"
"Blue Halos"
"Wavy-Capped Psilocybe"

Habitat
Grows in humus enriched with woody debris, amongst leaves and twigs, in wood chips, sawdust, or in debris fields rich with rotting wood. Often under mixed woods at the edges of lawns, along paths, and in heavily mulched rhododendron and rose gardens. Found in the fall to early winter in the Pacific Northwest. Reported from the western coastal regions of North America (from San Francisco, California to southern Alaska), and also widely spread throughout the United Kingdom, across much of temperate Europe, from Italy to Germany to Spain to Sweden.

Psilocybe cyanofbrillosa

Common Names

"Rhododenron Psilocybe"
"Blue-Haired Psilocybe"

Habitat
Primarily a coastal species, found from Northern California (Eureka/Arcata) north to British Columbia. Associated with bush lupines and especially common on flood plains on river estuaries flowing into the Pacific ocean. Also frequently found in coastal rhododendron gardens and nurseries.

Psilocybe pelliculosa

Habitat
Grows on well decayed conifer substratum, in mulch, or in soil rich in lignin. Often seen along paths in conifer forests and along abandoned roads. Found in the fall to early winter throughout the Pacific Northwest and in Northern California.

Psilocybe semilanceata

Common Names
"Liberty Cap"
"Witch's Hat"

Habitat
Scattered to gregarious in pastures and in fields or in other grassy areas, especially areas inhabited by sheep and cows. Particularly abundant in or about sedge clumps of grass in the damper parts of fields. Reported across much of northern Europe (Italy to Switzerland to Holland, Norway to France), in grasslands of South Africa, Chile, and northern India. Johnston & Buchanan (1995) reported Psilocybe semilanceata from high altitude grasslands in the central South Island of New Zealand.

In the Pacific Northwest of North America, this mushroom occurs west of the Cascades from northern California to British Columbia in the fall to early winter, and to a much lesser degree in the spring along the coastal areas of Oregon and Washington.

Psilocybe sylvatica

Habitat
Grows on wood debris or on wood chips or in well decayed conifer substratum in the fall. Known from the eastern United States (from Michigan to New York) to Ontario and the Pacific Northwest. Also reported from northern Europe.

Psilocybe stuntzii

Common Names
"Stuntz's Psilocybe"
"Stuntz's Blue Legs"
"Blue Ringers"

Habitat
Growing on wood chips or in decayed conifer substratum, also in lawns and fields, in the fall to early winter and in the spring. Reported from western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Abundant throughout the Puget Sound area.

Psilocybe weilii

Habitat
Sometimes scattered in red clay soil topped with a thin layer of needles from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) underneath sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). First reported from southeastern Cherokee County, northern Georgia, USA after Hurricane Opal swept through in 1995. Fruiting from early September through November between temperatures of 45-80° F, preferring 60-75° F.