Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceae
Psilocybe tampanensis
Philosophers stone
Rare wild species best known for the sclerotia it forms underground.
- Cap
- Convex to flat with a slight umbo, 1-2.4 cm, ochre to straw brown.
- Gills
- Adnate, brown to purple-brown.
- Stem
- 20-60 mm, slender, pale, bluing where bruised.
- Flesh
- Blues.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown
- Habitat
- Sandy meadow soil.
- Distribution
- Florida and Mississippi, USA; extremely rare in the wild.
- Season
- Late summer to autumn.
- Bruising
- Blue on handling.
- Odour
- Farinaceous.
- Potency
- Moderate
Key features
- ▪Very small pale cap
- ▪Produces underground sclerotia
- ▪Sandy meadow soil
Field tests
- Spore print must be dark purple-brown
Edibility
Contains psilocybin; sclerotia are also active.
Warning
Nearly impossible to identify safely in the field from photographs.
Lookalikes
Small brown Conocybedeadly
Field identification from a photo is not realistic for this species; rusty-spored Conocybe in the same sand are lethal.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.