Psilocybe
| Psilocybe | |
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| Psilocybe semilanceata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hymenogastraceae |
| Genus: |
Psilocybe (Fr.) P.Kumm. (1871) |
| Type species | |
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Psilocybe semilanceata (Fr.) P.Kumm. (1871) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Psilocybe is a genus of gilled mushrooms growing worldwide. This genus is best known for the species with psychedelic properties. Psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin are the main psychedelic compounds responsible for the psychoactive effects of many species in the genus.
The word Psilocybe comes from the Greek words ψιλός + κύβη, and literally means "bare headed", referring to the mushroom's detachable pellicle (loose skin over the cap). It is pronounced with the accent on the third syllable /sɪlˈɒsᵻbiː/ sil-OS-ə-bee. The final e is not silent.
Psilocybe fruit bodies are typically small, nondescript mushrooms with a typical "little brown mushroom" morphology. Macroscopically, they are characterized by their small to occasionally medium size, brown to yellow-brown coloration, with a typically hygrophanous cap, and a spore print-color that ranges from lilac-brown to dark purple-brown (though rusty-brown colored varieties are known in at least one species). Hallucinogenic species typically have a blue-staining reaction when the fruit body is bruised. Microscopically, they are characterized by pileipellis with hyphae that run parallel to the pileus surface, forming a cutis, by their lack of chrysocystidia, and by spores that are smooth, ellipsoid to rhomboid to subhexagonal in shape, with a distinct apical germ pore. Ecologically, all species of Psilocybe are saprotrophs, growing on various kinds of decaying organic matter.
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