Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceaeMexico
Psilocybe aztecorum
Aztec psilocybe
High-altitude Mexican species of pine forest litter on the slopes of Popocatepetl and neighbouring volcanoes.
Regional status: Native to the high volcanoes of central Mexico
- Cap
- Convex to flattened, 15–55 mm, brown drying pale straw, margin translucent-striate.
- Gills
- Adnate, pale then dark violet-brown with white edges.
- Stem
- 55–75 mm, whitish with woolly mycelium at the base, blueing.
- Flesh
- Whitish, blueing.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown
- Habitat
- Deep pine needle litter and decaying pine debris above 3,000 m.
- Distribution
- Central Mexico; related records from Arizona and India.
- Season
- August – November
- Bruising
- Blue-green on stem base and damaged tissue.
- Odour
- Farinaceous
- Potency
- Strong
Key features
- ▪High-altitude pine litter
- ▪White woolly base mycelium
- ▪Translucent striate margin
Field tests
- Purple-brown spore print
- Blue reaction on the stem base
Edibility
Psilocybin-containing; not a food species.
Warning
Deadly Galerina species also fruit in conifer debris. Spore print colour is essential.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.