Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceaeNew Zealand
Psilocybe weraroa
Weraroa
An endemic New Zealand pouch-shaped psilocybin mushroom whose enclosed form is unlike a typical open-capped mushroom.
Regional status: Endemic to New Zealand
- Cap
- Closed, pouch-like brown fruiting body that does not expand into a normal cap.
- Gills
- Enclosed and contorted rather than exposed.
- Stem
- Short, thick and often curved.
- Flesh
- Pale tissue that can stain blue-green when damaged.
- Spore print
- Purple-brown, but difficult to obtain because the gills remain enclosed.
- Habitat
- Native forest litter, rotting wood and woody debris.
- Distribution
- New Zealand, North and South Islands.
- Season
- Mainly autumn to winter.
- Bruising
- Blue to blue-green when cut or bruised.
- Odour
- Mild and fungal.
- Potency
- Poorly quantified; variable
Key features
- ▪Closed pouch-like form
- ▪Enclosed gill tissue
- ▪Native forest wood and litter
- ▪Blue-green staining
Field tests
- Cut only for examination and check for enclosed gill tissue
- Record the substrate and native-forest habitat
- Do not use bruising alone as proof of identity
Edibility
Psychoactive, not a culinary mushroom. Potency is not reliably quantified.
Warning
Its unusual shape can be confused with puffballs and other enclosed fungi. A photograph cannot establish safe identity.
Lookalikes
Small puffballs and enclosed fungiunknown
A puffball has an even spore mass inside rather than enclosed gill-like tissue and should not be identified by blue staining alone.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.