Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceaeAustralia
Psilocybe alutacea
A less-studied southeastern Australian species close to the Psilocybe subaeruginosa complex.
Regional status: Native to southeastern Australia; taxonomic status uncertain
- Cap
- Buff to leather-tan, convex and hygrophanous.
- Gills
- Becoming purple-brown as spores mature.
- Stem
- Whitish and fibrillose, with blue staining.
- Flesh
- Whitish with blue-green staining.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown.
- Habitat
- Woody debris and forest litter in cool temperate areas.
- Distribution
- Tasmania and Victoria, Australia.
- Season
- Autumn to winter.
- Bruising
- Blue after handling or damage.
- Odour
- Farinaceous or mild.
- Potency
- Poorly quantified; close to the subaeruginosa complex
Key features
- ▪Leather-tan cap
- ▪Wood and litter habitat
- ▪Purple-brown spores
- ▪Blue staining
Field tests
- Take a dark spore print
- Confirm woody substrate
- Treat field-level separation from the subaeruginosa complex as uncertain
Edibility
Psychoactive and not a culinary mushroom. Potency is not well quantified.
Warning
Taxonomic identity and field separation from Psilocybe subaeruginosa remain uncertain. Deadly Galerina can grow on the same substrate.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.