''Panaeolus africanus'' is a little brown
mushroom that contains irregular amounts of the hallucinogens
psilocybin and
psilocin.
It has been found in central Africa and southern
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
.
Description
This is a little brown mushroom that grows on
hippopotamus and
elephant dung and has black
spores. The cap is up to 2 cm in diameter, gray, conic, and often with scaly cracks. It is viscid when moist and the flesh is grey to white. The gills are grayish when young and turn black with a mottled appearance as the spores mature. The stem is 4 cm long by 5 mm thick, and is
pruinose Pruinescence , or pruinosity, is a "frosted" or dusty-looking coating on top of a surface. It may also be called a pruina (plural: ''pruinae''), from the Latin word for hoarfrost. The adjectival form is pruinose .
Entomology
In insects, a "blo ...
at the top. The spores are black, rather variable, 13 x 9
μm
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 ...
, and shaped like almonds. Macroscopically, this species resembles
''Panaeolus semiovatus'' var. ''phalaenarum''.
*Cap: 1.5–2 cm broad. Obtusely conic, hemispheric and rarely broadly convex in age. Surface smooth (but may crack to form scales when exposed to the sun), viscid when wet, especially in young specimens, sometimes reddish brown towards the disc, and becoming grayish brown in age. Margin incurved when young, often irregular, and non-translucent. Flesh greyish white.
*Gills: Attachment adnate to adnexed, sometimes sinuate, rarely subdecurrent, widely spaced, irregular, greyish a first, soon grayish black, blackish with age, and mottled as spores mature.
*Stem: 30-50mm by 4-6mm thick, equal, firm, pruinose towards the apex. Whitish to white with pinkish tones, generally lighter than the cap, and lacking any veil remnants.
*Microscopic Features: Spores nearly black in deposit, 11.5-14.5 by 7.9-10 micrometers, lemon shaped, and often variable. Basidia 2- and 4-spored. Cheilocystidia clavate 17-24 by 7.4-12 micrometers. Pleurocystidia present, with extended sharp apices, 25-60 (60) by 10-17 (20) micrometers.
Habitat and distribution
Reported from
central Africa to the southern regions of the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
. Probably more widely distributed. Found on hippopotamus and elephant dung in the spring or during the rainy seasons.
See also
*
List of ''Panaeolus'' species
References
External links
Mushroom John - ''Panaeolus africanus''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panaeolus africanus
Entheogens
Psychoactive fungi
africanus
Psychedelic tryptamine carriers
Fungi of North America
Fungi of Africa