''Psilocybe serbica'' is a species of mushroom in the family
Hymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the psychotropic compounds
psilocybin and
psilocin, and also related tryptamine alkaloids
baeocystin,
norbaeocystin
Norbaeocystin is a psilocybin mushroom alkaloid and analog of psilocybin. It is found as a minor compound in most psilocybin mushrooms together with psilocin, psilocybin, aeruginascin, and baeocystin, from which it is a derivative.
Norbaeocystin ...
, and
aeruginascin. It is closely related to ''
Psilocybe aztecorum''. It was reported as new to science by
Meinhard Moser
Meinhard Michael Moser (13 March 192430 September 2002) was an Austrian mycologist. His work principally concerned the taxonomy, chemistry, and toxicity of the gilled mushrooms (Agaricales), especially those of the genus ''Cortinarius'', and th ...
and
Egon Horak in 1969.
[ ]Molecular
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
analysis published in 2010 has shown that ''P. serbica'' is the same species as ''Psilocybe bohemica'' described by Šebek in 1983,[ ''Psilocybe arcana'' described by Borovička and Hlaváček in 2001,][ and ''Psilocybe moravica'' by Borovička in 2003.][ ''Psilocybe serbica'' is common in Central Europe.
]
Description
''Psilocybe serbica'' has no specific smell (somewhat raddish, but never farinaceous), and the taste is usually bitter
Bitter may refer to:
Common uses
* Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience
* Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes
Books
* '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...
. It is a very variable species.
Its cap is in diameter and obtusely conical
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
, later becoming campanulate or convex. It expands to broadly convex or plane in age and is incurved at first then plane or decurved with age. The cap is buff-brown to dingy orangish-brown and pale ochraceous when dry. It is smooth, hygrophanous, and slightly translucent-striate when moist but not viscid and without a separable gelatinous pellicle. The flesh is whitish to cream-colored, bruising blue when injured.
Spore
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 ...
s are purple-brown, 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 ...
, slightly flattened, and thick-walled, with a distinct germ pore. The size is very variable, mostly 10–13 × 6–7.5 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 ...
, but also much longer.
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 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 ...
and close, often distinctly subdecurrent. They are initially light brown, becoming dark brown with age with a purple tint, the edges remaining paler.
The stipe is long, and thick. It has an equal structure, slightly enlarging at the base. It is whitish with a silky gloss and glabrous, or with some whitish remnants of the fibrillose 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 ...
.
Habitat
''Psilocybe serbica'' is found growing mostly in groups, on well decayed deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
and coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
wood, and along Urtica
''Urtica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles, although the latter name applies particularly to ''Urtica dioica''.
''Urtica'' species are food f ...
spp. or Rubus
''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species.
Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...
spp. on twigs, compost, plant residue in forests, usually in moist places along creeks, forest paths, and roadside verges. It is not reported to be synanthropic as Psilocybe cyanescens but rarely it may occur also on woodchips.
Alkaloid content
In ''Psilocybe serbica'' var. ''arcana'', concentrations of psilocin and psilocybin were in the range of 0.412–7.922 mg/g and 0.002–8.878 mg/g (dry weight), respectively. The concentrations of psilocin (0.027–2.485 mg/g) and psilocybin (1.553–15.543 mg/g) determined in var. ''bohemica'' were found significantly higher.
See also
*List of Psilocybin mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are mushrooms which contain the hallucinogenic substances psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin and norbaeocystin. The mushrooms are collected and grown as an entheogen and recreational drug, despite being illegal in many count ...
* Psilocybin mushrooms
References
*Borovicka J. (2006). New variety of ''Psilocybe moravica'' and notes on ''Psilocybe bohemica''. ''Czech Mycology'' 58(1-2): 75–80.
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q20963099
Entheogens
Fungi described in 1969
Fungi of Europe
Psychoactive fungi
serbica
Psychedelic tryptamine carriers