''Psilocybe stuntzii'', also known as Stuntz's blue legs and blue ringers it is a psilocybin mushroom of the family Hymenogastraceae, having psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds. It is in the section Stuntzae, other members of the section include ''

Psilocybe caeruleoannulata ''Psilocybe caeruleoannulata'' is a species of psilocybin mushroom found in Uruguay and Brazil, where it grows on marshy grounds, grasslands, or pastures. It is the most common ''Psilocybe'' species in the Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de ...

'', '' Psilocybe meridionalis'', '' Psilocybe mescaleroensis'', '' Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata'', '' Psilocybe rostrata'', '' Psilocybe subaeruginascens'', ''Psilocybe subaeruginascens'' var. ''septentrionalis'' and '' Psilocybe uruguayensis''.

Etymology and history

The mushroom is named in honor of mycologist Daniel Stuntz of the University of Washington. It was originally identified growing on the University of Washington campus.

Description

*The pileus is .5–3.5 cm, obtusely conic to convex, expanding to convex-umbonate or flat with age. The margin is translucent-striate when moist and uplifted in age. It is hygrophanous, glabrous, dark chestnut brown while lighter towards the center. The pileus is olive-greenish at times, fading to a pale yellowish brown or pale yellow. It is viscid when moist from a gelatinous pellicle, staining slightly greenish-blue when injured or with age. *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 ...

or sinuate or adnexed, close to sub-distant and moderately broad, yellowish brown at first, soon violet brown or chocolate brown to blackish violet, and uniform or somewhat mottled, with whitish edges. The spore print is dark violaceous brown. *The spores are 8.2–13.5 x 6 – 7.1–7.7 x 5.5–6.6

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 ...

, subrhomboid in face view, subellipsoid in side view, with a hilar appendage visible and a truncate apex with a broad germ pore, thick walled, and dingy yellow brown. *The stipe is 2–7.5 cm x 1.5–6 mm, equal or slightly enlarged at the base, cylindric or subcylindric, twisted striate at times, flexuous, glabrous to slightly fibrillose, dry, stuffed with a pith and becoming hollow, and white or whitish silky to ochraceous or brownish fibrillose. The partial veil is thinly membranous, leaving a fragile

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 ...

that becomes more noticeable as it darkens with spores. It stains blue-green when injured, most noticeably on the ring. *The taste and odor of ''Psilocybe stuntzii'' are farinaceous. *Microscopic features: The basidia are 16.5–33 x 5.5–8.8

, 4-spored, and hyaline. Pleurocystidia are absent and cheilocystidia are 22–30 x 4.4–6.6 μm, abundant, forming a sterile band,

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, lageniform, fusiform-lanceolate or fusoid-ampullaceous, with an elongate and flexuous neck, and are 1–2.2 μm in diameter, sometimes irregularly branched. Clamp connections are present.

Habitat and distribution

''Psilocybe stuntzii'' is found growing scattered to gregarious to cespitose, rarely solitary, in

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

wood chips and bark mulch, in soils rich in woody debris, and in new lawns of freshly laid sod or any newly mulched garden throughout the western region of the Pacific Northwest. It appears from late July through December, being observed all year long in the Seattle area, also reportedly appearing in California, rarely as far south as Santa Cruz. There was a time when this mushroom appeared in over 40 percent of all new lawns and mulched in areas in the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest. Due to a disappearance of pastures south of Seattle in the Tukwila-Kent-Auburn areas, this mushroom now only appears sporadically in certain new lawns which are well fertilized and manicured.

Edibility

This mushroom is hallucinogenic. Additionally, it closely resembles the highly toxic ''

Galerina marginata ''Galerina marginata'', known colloquially as funeral bell, deadly skullcap, autumn skullcap or deadly galerina, is a species of extremely poisonous mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae of the order Agaricales. It contains the ...

'', and several poisonings have been attributed to collectors consuming ''G. marginata'' after mistaking them for hallucinogenic ''P. stuntzii''.

Notes

References