Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceaeMexicoSouth AmericaCaribbean
Psilocybe yungensis
Genius mushroom
Small tropical wood-rotting species of cloud forest, fruiting in dense clusters on rotting hardwood.
Regional status: Native to tropical Latin America
- Cap
- Conical to bell-shaped, 10–25 mm, orange-brown to rusty, with a small papilla.
- Gills
- Adnate, pale then dark violet-brown.
- Stem
- 20–40 mm, brownish, hollow, blueing.
- Flesh
- Thin, blueing.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown
- Habitat
- Rotting logs and woody debris in subtropical and cloud forest.
- Distribution
- Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Martinique.
- Season
- Rainy season
- Bruising
- Blue-green where handled.
- Odour
- Farinaceous
- Potency
- Strong
Key features
- ▪Dense clusters on rotting hardwood
- ▪Orange-brown papillate cap
- ▪Blues when bruised
Field tests
- Purple-brown spore print, not rusty brown
- Bruise the stem to check for blueing
Edibility
Psilocybin-containing; not a food species.
Warning
Deadly Galerina marginata also clusters on rotting wood and has a rusty spore print.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.