''Psilocybe aucklandiae'' is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae known from the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where it grows from clay soils in exotic pine plantations and native forests.Johnston P, Buchanan PK. The genus Psilocybe (Agaricales) in New Zealand. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'' 1995;33(3):379-388. It is

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

similar to or almost the same as '' Psilocybe zapotecorum'' from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. As a blueing member of the genus ''Psilocybe'' it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin.

Taxonomy

''Psilocybe aucklandiae'' was officially described in 1991 by

Gastón Guzmán Gastón Guzmán Huerta (August 26, 1932 – January 12, 2016), a Mexican mycologist and anthropologist, was an authority on the genus ''Psilocybe''. Career He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, in 1932. His interest in mycology began in 1955 when as ...

, Chris King and Victor Bandala in 'A new species of ''Psilocybe'' of section ''Zapotecorum'' from New Zealand.' The name is feminine; the original orthography is ''aucklandii'' which has a masculine suffix. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

is in New Zealand with accessio
PDD 57236
and was collected in the Waitakere Ranges while the isotype is in XAL, Mexico. The fungus is named for its limited geographic distribution, being almost entirely restricted to the

, which includes the country's largest city of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and is situated in the upper half of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. At the time of publication it was known only from this area.

Description

The cap is 15–55 mm diam., broadly conic, expanding to broadly umbonate to more or less flattened, with edges becoming slightly upturned and often splitting; dry; lacking

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

remnants; dark brown to yellow-brown, striate (radially lined) to edge, hygrophanous, drying to pale yellow-brown to straw-coloured; staining greenish-blue with damage or age; flesh white. The gills are adnate (broadly attached to the stem), close, greyish yellow-brown, maturing dark violaceous, with a conspicuous pale narrow margin. The stipe is 35-100 x 1.5–5 mm, cylindric, finely

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 ...

in the upper part and silky-fibrillose near the base, white, yellow or pinkish purple brown, with brownish flesh.

Veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

cortinoid and poorly developed, disappearing as caps mature. All parts staining deep greenish-blue or blackish-blue with damage. Spore print violet brown. Spores measure (6.5-)7-9.5 x 4-5.5 x 3.5-4.5 μm, 8.1 x 4.9 x 4.3 μm average, ovate in face view, elliptic-ovate in side view; brown-walled and smooth, 0.5 μm thick with apical pore; Basidia 20-28 x 4.5-6 μm, cylindric, with 4 spores, clamped; Cheilocystidia 15-32 x 4-8 μm, ventricose-rostrate (swollen and uneven with a beak), with long, tapering, flexuous and sometimes bifurcate neck (forked in two), transparent, thin-walled, up to 12 μm long; Pleurocystidia 13-19 x 4.5-6 μm, scattered, similar to cheilocystidia but with shorter neck, up to 4.5 μm.

Similar species

'' Psilocybe zapotecorum'' in

and

, as noted by Guzman et al. (1991), "''P. aucklandii'' is very similar to ''P. zapotecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzman, which is common in Mexico and known from South America. The two species are barely distinguishable microscopically, although comparison with published descriptions (Guzman 1983) show that ''P. aucklandii'' may have slightly narrower pleurocystidia and slightly wider spores. Published illustrations ''of P. zapotecorum'' (Guzman 1983) appear to show that ''P. aucklandii'' is a less robust species."

Distribution and habitat

On soil and litter, especially clay soils, in native forests and Pine plantations, almost always in the wider Auckland Region. Commonly found in the exotic pine plantation of Riverhead. Has been recorded from Waipoua in Northland, and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as ''Psilocybe sect. Zapotecorum'', which is likely

similar or the same. Specimens examined for the description: Auckland: Woodhill State Forest, on ground in litter of mixed pine and native forest, C. C. ''King,'' Jun 198
PDD 57236
(holotype). Waitakere Ranges: Sharps Bush, in litter under ''Leptospermum'' and ''Dacrydium'': PDD 43043; Atkinson Park, Titirangi Beach on soil under ''Leptospermum:'' PDD 49789; Quarry Track, Piha Valley Forest, on litter: PDD 58423. Hunua Ranges: Orere, on ground: PDD 34593; Mangatangi Valley, on rotten wood: PDD 34594.

References

External links