''Psilocybe aztecorum'' is a species of

psilocybin mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocybe'', '' ...

in the family

Hymenogastraceae The Hymenogastraceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales with both agaric and false-truffle shaped fruitbodies. Formerly, prior to molecular analyses, the family was restricted to the false-truffle genera. The mushroom genus ''Psilocybe ...

. Known from Arizona, Colorado, central Mexico, India and Costa Rica, the fungus grows on decomposing woody debris and is found in mountainous areas at elevations of , typically in meadows or open, grassy conifer forests. The mushrooms have convex to bell-shaped

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

in diameter, atop slender cylindrical stems that are up to long. The color of the caps changes with variations in hydration, ranging from dark chestnut brown to straw yellow or whitish when dry. The base of the stem is densely covered with conspicuous white rhizomorphs, a characteristic uncommon amongst ''

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the mol ...

'' species. The species was first reported by French mycologist

Roger Heim Roger Heim (February 12, 1900 – September 17, 1979) was a French botanist specialising in mycology and tropical phytopathology. He was known for his studies describing the anatomy of the mushroom hymenium, the systematics and phylogeny of highe ...

in 1956 as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of ''

Psilocybe mexicana ''Psilocybe mexicana'' is a psychedelic mushroom. Its first known usage was by the natives of North and Central America over 2,000 years ago. Known to the Aztecs as teotlnanácatl, from the Nahuatl ''teotl'' ("god") + ''nanácatl'' ("fungus"). T ...

'' before he officially described it under its current name a year later. Named for its association with the

Nahua people The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

also called

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s, ''P. aztecorum'' may have been one of the sacred mushroom species, or ''teonanácatl'' (A Nahuatl word translated variously as "sacred mushroom" or "flesh of the gods"), reported in the

codices The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

of 16th-century Spanish chronicler

Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, ...

. The mushrooms are still used for spiritual ceremonies by Nahua people in the

Popocatépetl Popocatépetl (; Nahuatl: ) is an active stratovolcano located in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico in central Mexico. It lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. At it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after C ...

region, although this traditional usage is waning. The variety ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''bonetii'' has smaller spores than the main variety, and is found at lower elevations with

Montezuma pine ''Pinus montezumae'', known as the Montezuma pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is known as ocote. The tree grows about 35 m high and 80 cm in diameter; occasional ...

(''Pinus montezumae'') and

sacred fir ''Abies religiosa'', the oyamel fir or sacred fir, (known as in Spanish) is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur) and western Guatemala. It grows at high altitudes o ...

(''Abies religiosa''). ''P. aztecorum'' may be distinguished from similar

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

species such as '' P. baeocystis'' and '' P. quebecensis'' by their ranges, and by differences in the

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

of microscopic structures like

cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The species was first mentioned by French mycologist

in 1956 based on material collected by American ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson in

Paso de Cortés The Paso de Cortés is the mountain pass or saddle between the Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl volcanoes in central Mexico. It is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, where the normally southeast-trending continental divide turns north for ov ...

, on the slopes of Popocatépetl mountain in Mexico. Heim originally named the species as a

of ''

''; limited to dried mushroom material for analysis, he only described the spores, which he explained were "relatively longer and narrower than that of ''Psilocybe mexicana''". A year later, Heim renamed the fungus ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' and officially described it, in addition to several other Mexican ''

'' taxa. Some of these mushrooms, including ''P. aztecorum'', were illustrated in the popular American weekly magazine ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' ("

Seeking the Magic Mushroom "Seeking the Magic Mushroom" is a 1957 photo essay by amateur mycologist Robert Gordon Wasson describing his experience taking psilocybin mushrooms in 1955 during a Mazatec ritual in Oaxaca, Mexico. Wasson was one of the first Westerners to parti ...

"), in which Wasson recounted the psychedelic visions that he experienced during the

divinatory Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

rituals of the

Mazatec people The Mazatec are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca and some communities in the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz. Language family The Mazatecan languages are part of the Popolocan family wh ...

, thereby introducing psilocybin mushrooms to Western popular culture. In 1978, Mexican mycologist and ''Psilocybe'' specialist Gastón Guzmán emended the description of ''P. aztecorum'' to include the color variation of the

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

resulting from its strongly

hygrophanous The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue (especially the pileus surface) as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis to become more transparent when wet and opaque when dry. When identifying hygroph ...

nature, the mycenoid form, the

rhizoid Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be uni ...

s at the base of the stem, the lignicolous habitat, and the size of the spores—all features that he thought were either confused, or not sufficiently detailed, in Heim's original description. In the same publication, Guzmán also characterized the variety ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''bonetii'', distinguished from the main variety by its smaller spores. He had originally described this variant as a separate species, ''Psilocybe bonetii'', in 1970. Further, Guzmán later published ''

Psilocybe natarajanii ''Psilocybe natarajanii'' is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. (on Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto) The mushroom contains the medicinal compound psilocybin. It was described from the state of Tamil Nadu in India. See also ...

'', originally described by him from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

in southern India, as a synonym of ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''bonetii''; this putative synonymy, however, is confirmed by neither

MycoBank MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screened ...

nor

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and the Institute of M ...

. Guzmán called the main variety ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''aztecorum''; for this reason, the species authority is often cited as "''P. aztecorum'' var. ''aztecorum'' R. Heim emend. Guzmán".Stamets (1996)
pp. 92–3.
/ref> ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of Guzmán's

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Aztecorum'', a group of bluing (i.e.,

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 ...

-containing) ''Psilocybe'' mushrooms characterized by having a strongly hygrophanous cap that dries to brown or brownish white when dry; spores that appear asymmetrical when seen in side view; and

pleurocystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

that, when present, are hyaline (translucent). Other species classified in section ''Aztecorum'' are '' P. baeocystis'' and '' P. quebecensis''. The specific epithet ''aztecorum'' refers to the

Indians of central Mexico, who used this mushroom in traditional ceremonies long before the Spanish came to America. The variety ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''bonneti'' is named after Dr. Federico Bonet (died 1980), emeritus professor of the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, who assisted Guzmán with his doctoral studies. The popular names of ''P. aztecorum'' are ''niños'' or ''niñitos'' (children or little children), or in the Nahuatl language ''apipiltzin'' which means ''niños del agua'' ("children of the water"), alluding to their habitat along

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. The

is convex to bell-shaped, sometimes developing a broad umbo before expanding and flattening in age; it reaches a diameter of . In maturity, the cap eventually forms a central depression, and, in some old specimens, opens into the hollow stem. The cap surface is slimy to the touch, and has translucent striations along the margin when moist. The cap is strongly

, meaning that it will change color depending on its level of hydration. The color ranges from yellowish brown to golden yellow in young button forms to brownish gray in age, with greenish-gray tints on the margin. The color later changes to whitish from the center to the margin, finally remaining completely white; dried specimens are straw-colored to pale brownish. In contrast to most psilocybin mushrooms, the cap of ''P. aztecorum'' does not have a strong bluing reaction upon injury—only the margin stains slightly green-blue. Psilocybe aztecorum 108691 crop

The

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

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 ...

(broadly attached to the stem slightly above the bottom of the gill) or adnexed (reaching the stem, but not attached to it), and are light violet gray to dark violet brown. They are either uniform in color, or have whitish edges. The hollow stem is by thick, equal in width throughout or thicker at the top, cylindric or sometimes flattened, and either straight or with turns and windings. Its surface is smooth, silky- fibrillose, whitish to greyish, and stains blue-green irregularly when touched or in age. The base of the stem is densely covered with well-developed white rhizomorphs. Young mushrooms have a white cobweb-like

partial veil In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, typically agarics. Its role is to isola ...

that does not last long before it disappears, although it sometimes remains as a non-permanent

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

on the upper part of the stem. The

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

is whitish to yellowish or reddish yellow in the cap, or reddish brown in the stem, and shows little or no bluing reaction to injury. Like most of the bluing ''Psilocybe'' mushrooms, the odor and taste of ''P. aztecorum'' is slightly farinaceous (similar to freshly ground flour) in fresh specimens; dried specimens have a more intense odor. A drop of dilute

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

(KOH) stains the cap, stem, and flesh reddish brown; sometimes, the stem does not stain or stains slightly yellowish red. The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is blackish violet.

Microscopic characteristics

The spores are elongated-ellipsoid in face view, roughly terete (more or less cylindrical but usually tapering at both ends), slightly inequilateral or asymmetrical in side view—the so-called "mango" form. They typically have dimensions of 12–14 by 6.6–7.7 by 6–7.5 μm, although some spores have irregular shapes and are strongly elongated, up to 23 μm. Spores are thick-walled (generally between 1–1.5 μm), dark yellowish brown, and have a broad

germ pore A germ pore is a small pore in the outer wall of a fungal spore through which the germ tube exits upon germination. It can be apical or eccentric in its location, and, on light microscopy, may be visualized as a lighter coloured area on the cell ...

. The variety ''bonetii'' has smaller spores measuring 10–13 by 6–7.5 by 6–7 μm. The

basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly- ...

(spore-bearing cells) measure 24–33 by 6.6–8.8 μm, and may be attached to anywhere from one to four spores, although four-spored basidia are most common. They are hyaline to sometimes somewhat yellowish, club-shaped or roughly cylindrical, and some have a slight constriction around the middle. The cheilocystidia (

on the edge of a gill) are abundant, forming a sterile band on the gill edge. They are hyaline, fusoid-ampullaceous (with a shape ranging from a spindle to a swollen bottle), with dimensions of 20–45 by 5–8.2 μm, and have a filamentous neck measuring 6–11 by 1.6–2.5 μm. The pleurocystidia (cystidia on the gill face) are scattered, similar to the cheilocystidia in form and size, hyaline, and some have bifurcated or branched necks. The subhymenium (a layer of cells immediately below the hymenium) consists of spherical cells that are interwoven with hyphae; this layer is hyaline to yellowish or brownish, and does not have

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

crusted on the walls of the hyphae. The epicutis (the upper of two layers of the

cap cuticle The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fruit body. It covers the trama, the fleshy tissue of the fruit body. The pileipellis is more or less synonymous with the cuticle, but the cuticle generally describes ...

) is made of a thin gelatinous layer of hyaline or brownish hyphae measuring 1.5–2.5 μm in diameter. The hypodermium (the cuticle tissue layer under the epicutis) is hyaline, and has elongated to roughly spherical hyphae that are 10–18 μm in diameter.

Clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rec ...

s are present in the hyphae of ''P. aztecorum''.

Similar species

Psilocybe pseudoaztecorum ''Psilocybe pseudoaztecorum'' is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It was described from the state of Tamil Nadu in India. This species produces viable amounts of psilocybin in the mycelium phase and is used by mushroom growe ...

'', found in India, differs from ''P. aztecorum'' in the

of the pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia. The characteristic filamentous neck present in the cystidia of ''P. aztecorum'' is absent in ''P. pseudoaztecorum''. ''P. pseudoaztecorum'' had been previously described by K. Natarajan and N. Raman as ''P. aztecorum'', but they published the taxon with a new name after consultation with Guzmán. Fresh specimens of ''P. aztecorum'' resemble '' P. pelliculosa'', but this latter species is found only in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

region of the United States and Canada. Like ''P. aztecorum'', the caps of the South African species '' P. natalensis'' also bleach to nearly white when dried. The closely related '' P. baeocystis'' also bleaches in color to white when dry. Found in northwest North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, ''P. baeocystis'' has thinner cheilocystidia than ''P. aztecorum'' (typically measuring 20–32 by 4.4–6 μm) and its pleurocystidia, when present, are found only near the gill edge. '' P. quebecensis'', known only from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, has pleurocystidia measuring 12–25 by 5–10 μm. Although the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

of the species comprising section ''Aztecorum'' is not known with certainty, Guzmán has suggested that ''P. aztecorum'' was the ancestor of ''P. baeocystis'' in northwestern North America and of ''P. quebecensis'' in northeastern North America.

Habitat and distribution

A lignicolous species, ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' lives in and decays dead wood, leaves, sticks, or other similar organic debris. Mushrooms typically fruit in groups of 5 to 20, sometimes in bundles. Usual substrates include wood debris buried in soil, twigs or very rotten logs, and, rarely,

pine cone A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...

s. The mushroom is found in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s (a low-density forest or wooded area that allows sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor) containing Hartweg's pine (''Pinus hartwegii'') in addition to grasses such as '' Festuca tolucensis'' and '' Muhlenbergia quadridentata'', and the herbaceous plant '' Alchemilla procumbens'', at elevations of . Heim found the type specimens at an altitude of in an alpine

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forest. ''P. aztecorum'' fruits from August to October. ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' is known only from the high mountains of central Mexico, such as Sierra Nevada,

Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...

, and

La Malinche Marina or Malintzin ( 1500 – 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche , a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an interpreter, ad ...

in the States of

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 ...

, Puebla, and

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

. According to Guzmán, it is likely that the species also grows in other areas with high mountains, such as the States of

Nuevo Leon Nuevo is the Spanish word for "new". It may refer to: * Nuevo, California, a town in the state of California * Nuevo (band), featuring singer and musician Peter Godwin * Nuevo (Bayamón), a settlement in Puerto Rico * "Nuevo", Spanish-language vers ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...

, and Chiapas, which have ecological conditions similar to those of the known localities. Variety ''bonetii'' grows in the same substrata as the type variety, mainly on humus, but only in forests with

(''Pinus montezumae'') and

(''Abies religiosa''), between elevation; it has not been recorded from Hartweg's pine forests. Also known only from Mexico, in the states of Mexico and Morelos, and in the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

, ''P. aztecorum'' var. ''bonetii'' usually fruits from August to November. According to Guzmán, ''P. aztecorum'' should be of

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

concern owing to

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

of its natural habitat.

Entheogenic use

''Psilocybe aztecorum'' contains the psychoactive compound

. In 1958, Swiss chemist

Albert Hofmann Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann's team also isolated, named and synthesi ...

reported a relatively low concentration of 0.02% psilocybin, but this analysis was performed on two-year-old specimens.

Jonathan Ott Jonathan Ott (born 1949 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist and botanical researcher in the area of entheogens and their cultural and historical uses, and helped coin the term "' ...

and Guzmán indicated the presence of psilocybin in the variety ''bonartii''. In terms of psychoactive

potency Potency may refer to: * Potency (pharmacology), a measure of the activity of a drug in a biological system * Virility * Cell potency, a measure of the differentiation potential of stem cells * In homeopathic dilutions, potency is a measure of how ...

Paul Stamets Paul Edward Stamets (born July 17, 1955) is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation. Early life Stamets was born in ...

rates ''P. aztecorum'' as "moderately to highly active". The statue of the

"god of flowers", Xochipilli, a 16th-century stone effigy unearthed on the side of the volcano

, depicts a single figure seated cross-legged upon a temple-like base; his body is covered in carvings of sacred and psychoactive organisms. Circular patterns on his kneecaps, right forearm, and headdress have been interpreted by R. Gordon Wasson as stylized fruit bodies of ''Psilocybe aztecorum''. Wasson says that the convex shape and incurved margins depicted in these images show the mushroom caps just before maturity. ''P. aztecorum'' is, in addition to '' P. caerulescens'', one of two mushrooms thought to be the species described by 16th-century Spanish chronicler

as the ''teonanácatl''. The word ''teonanácatl'' () has been variously translated as "sacred or divine mushroom" or as "flesh of the gods". These mushrooms, considered holy sacraments by the Aztecs, were consumed during spiritual and divinatory rituals to induce hallucinatory visions. ''Psilocybe aztecorum'' is still used ceremonially by the

indigenous people of Oaxaca The Indigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state of Oaxaca, Mexico who were present before the Spanish invasion. Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, o ...

, and by

in the Popocatépetl region, although this usage is gradually diminishing. Traditional

folk healer A folk healer is an unlicensed person who practices the art of healing using traditional practices, herbal remedies and the power of suggestion. The healer may be a highly trained person who pursues their specialties, learning by study, observa ...

s, or ''curanderos'', maintain familiarity with psychoactive mushrooms (and other mind-altering plants used in ceremonial rituals), and diagnose illnesses by having the client ingest the mushrooms. One Mixe ''curandero'' initiation ritual involves ingestion of mushrooms following a period of "abstinence from talking, sexual intercourse, and all foods except nuts for three days, whereupon the individual goes up to a mountain, subsists on nothing but a little honey, and prays to God for the power to heal."Lipp (1998)
pp. 150–1.
/ref>

References

Cited texts

* * * *

External links

*
YouTube
Microscopy of pleurocystidia {{featured article Entheogens Fungi described in 1957 Fungi of Mexico aztecorum Psychedelic tryptamine carriers Psychoactive fungi Fungi without expected TNC conservation status