''Pholiotina smithii'' is a rare member of the genus ''

Pholiotina ''Pholiotina'' is a genus of small agaric fungi. It was circumscribed by Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod in 1889 for ''Conocybe''-like species with partial veils. The genus has since been expanded to include species lacking partial veils. Taxonomi ...

'' which contains the hallucinogenic alkaloid

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 ...

. It was formerly known as ''Galera cyanopes'' '' Photography and microscopy by Jordan luebben''.

Description

*Cap: 0.3 - 1(1.3) cm across

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 ...

but expands to nearly plane in age, with a distinct umbo, smooth, ochraceous tawny to cinnamon-brown, darker at edges, glistening when wet, hygrophanous, even to

striate In geology, a striation is a groove, created by a geological process, on the surface of a rock or a mineral. In structural geology, striations are linear furrows, or linear marks, generated from fault movement. The striation's direction revea ...

when moist. Lightens when it dries, turning a tan color. *Gills:

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 ...

adnexed In mycology, a lamella, or gill, is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal, and are important for species identification. The atta ...

, crowded to subdistant, narrow to moderately broad, pale grayish yellow to brown with whitish edges, darkening to rusty cinnamon brown in age. *Spores: Cinnamon brown, (6.5)7.0 - 9.0 x 4.0 - 4.5(5) micrometers 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 ...

with thick walls and a small but distinct germ-pore. * Stipe: (1)2 to 5(7.5) cm long, .75 - 1(1.5) mm thick, mostly equal but often slightly swollen at the base. Fragile, whitish with fine fibrils but becoming smooth, lacks an

annulus Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to: Human anatomy * ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure * Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus com ...

, slightly twisting striatulations, often slightly grayish at the base when young, becoming an azure shade of blue in age, quickly bruising blue when handled. *Taste: *Odor: farinaceous. *Microscopic features: Subcapitate cheilocystidia.

Distribution and habitat

''Pholiotina smithii'' is found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and often grows in bogs, ditches and swampy areas, commonly in

sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

moss. Also found along river banks and in lawns. It is known to occur in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

, (on ancient man-made earthen mounds), but is probably more widely distributed. On the west coast of America, ''Pholiotina smithii'' is an early summer mushroom, almost never appearing after the first week of June.

Edibility

Mildly hallucinogenic, containing

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 ...

, and

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 ps ...

. Most mycologists recommend against eating this mushroom because it is difficult to distinguish from poisonous species. Image:Conocybe smithii 2 .jpg, Pholiotina smithii photos and information, by Jordan Luebben.

References

External links

Conocybe smithii photo

A Worldwide Geographical Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pholiotina smithii Bolbitiaceae Entheogens Psychoactive fungi Psychedelic tryptamine carriers