''Inocybe aeruginascens'' is a member of the genus ''Inocybe'' which is widely distributed in Europe. The species was first documented by I. Ferencz in Ócsa, Hungary on June 15, 1965.

Description

''Inocybe aeruginascens'' is a small

mycorrhizal A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plan ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

with a

conic In mathematics, a conic section, quadratic curve or conic is a curve obtained as the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane. The three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the ellipse; the circle is a special ...

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope ...

cap which becomes plane in age and is often fibrillose near the margin. It is usually less than 5 cm across, has a slightly darker blunt umbo and an incurved margin when young. The cap color varies from buff to light yellow brown, usually with greenish stains which disappear when the mushroom dries. The gills are

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

to nearly free, numerous, colored pale brown, grayish brown, or tobacco brown. The

fruit body In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

has greenish tones and bruises blue where damaged. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are smooth and

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

, measuring 6–9.5 x 4.5

micrometre The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

s and forming a clay brown spore print. The stem is 2–7 cm long, 3 to 8 mm thick, and is equal width for the whole length, sometimes with some swelling at the base. It is solid, pale grey, becoming bluish green from the bottom up. The stem is fibrous and appears to be covered with fine powder near the top. It has a partial veil which often disappears in age and an unpleasant soapy odor.

Distribution and habitat

''Inocybe aeruginascens'' is widely distributed in temperate areas and has been reported in central Europe and western North America. It grows in moist sandy soils in a mycorrhizal relationship with poplar, linden, oak and willow trees.

Edibility

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

information exists on ''Inocybe aeruginascens'' currently, however a minimum of "23 unintentional intoxications" were reported in 1982 by Drewitz and Babos. Unintentional consumption could be due to the similarity of '' Marasmius oreades''. The symptoms of "intoxication" were hallucinogenic, leading Gartz and Drewitz to eventually discover the first source of

psilocybin Psilocybin ( , ) is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi. The most potent are members of the genus ''Psilocybe'', such as '' P. azurescens'', '' P. semilanceata'', and '' P.&nbs ...

in any ''Inocybe'' species. There are no known deaths directly related to consumption, however edibility is not yet conclusive.

Biochemistry

''Inocybe aeruginascens'' contains the formerly known alkaloids

psilocin Psilocin (also known as 4-HO-DMT, 4-hydroxy DMT, psilocine, psilocyn, or psilotsin) is a substituted tryptamine alkaloid and a serotonergic psychedelic substance. It is present in most psychedelic mushrooms together with its phosphorylated counte ...

baeocystin Baeocystin is a zwitterionic alkaloid and analog of psilocybin. It is found as a minor compound in most psilocybin mushrooms together with psilocybin, norbaeocystin, aeruginascin, and psilocin. Baeocystin is an ''N''-demethylated derivative of p ...

, as well a newly discovered

indoleamine Indolamines are a family of neurotransmitters that share a common molecular structure (namely, indolamine). Indolamines are a classification of monoamine neurotransmitter, along with catecholamines and ethylamine derivatives. A common example o ...

4-phosphoryloxy-''N,N,N''-tri

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula . In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as Me. This hydrocarbon group occurs in many ...

tryptamine Tryptamine is an indolamine metabolite of the essential amino acid, tryptophan. The chemical structure is defined by an indole ─ a fused benzene and pyrrole ring, and a 2-aminoethyl group at the second carbon (third aromatic atom, with the f ...

. Jochen Gartz named this new substance

aeruginascin Aeruginascin or ''N,N,N''-trimethyl-4-phosphoryloxytryptamine is an indoleamine derivative which occurs naturally within the mushroom '' Inocybe aeruginascens'' and '' Pholiotina cyanopus''. Aeruginascin is the ''N''-trimethyl analogue of psiloc ...

after the mushroom species. Aeruginascin is the ''N''-tri

analogue of

. ''Inocybe aeruginascens'' and ''

Pholiotina cyanopus ''Pholiotina cyanopus'' is a species of fungus that contains psychoactive compounds including psilocybin and the uncommon aeruginascin. Originally described as ''Galerula cyanopus'' by American mycologist George Francis Atkinson in 1918. It was ...

'' are the only known natural sources of aeruginascin.

References

External links