Wavy Caps

Family Agaricaceae: Strophariaceae; Stropharioideae Tribe, Semilanceata = Cyanescens Section Synonyms Geophila cyanescens (Maire) Kuhner et Rom. Hypholoma coprinifacies (Rolland ex Herink) Pouzar Hypholoma cyanescens Maire Psilocybe bohemica Sebek (cf. Psilocybe spp.) Psilocybe mairei Sing. Psilocybe serbica Moser et Horak Folk Names Blaufarbender kahlkopf, blauwwordend kaalkopje (Dutch), blue halos, bohmischer kahlkopf, oink, wavy caps, zauberpilz, zyanescens This 'mushroom is most easily recognized on the basis of its peculiar wavy cap. It lives not on dung but on the remains of plants, rotting wood, and humus-rich soils. In older mushroom guides, it often appears under the name Hyphaloma cyanescens (Cooper 1980, 18**). It is native to North America and central Europe and is found even in Hamburg (Findeisen 1982): This species settles on wood chips, which are often lying directly on the ground, so that the mushroom appears to sprout directly out of the earth. It is found primarily in parks in the Pacific Northwest, often in fairy circles, in amounts of up to 100 pounds. These mushrooms are one of the most potent species known and contain psilocybin and psilocin in amounts of up to 2% dry weight. (Gartz in Rippchen 1993, 70*) Gartz (1994, 19**) found that specimens grown in Germany contain approximately 0.3% psilocybin, 0.50/0 psilocin, and 0.01% baeocystin by dry weight. In central Europe, Psilocybe cyanescens is used in rituals in precisely the same manner as Psilocybe semilanceata (Liggenstorfer 1996). Here, cultivated mushrooms that contain a very high concentration of psilocybin are consumed. A visionary dosage is regarded as 1 g dry weight.

Literature See also the entries for the other Psilocybe species and for psilocybin. Findeisen, Lotte. 1982. Psilocybe serbica Moser et Horak, ein blauender Kahlkopf. Berichte des Botanischen Vereins zu Hamburg, no. 4: 27-29. Kriegelsteiner, G. J. 1984. Studien zum Psilocybecyanescens- Komplex in Europa. Beitriige zur Kenntnis der Pilze in Mitteleuropa 1:61-94. ---. 1986. Studien zum Psilocybe-cyanescenscallosasemilanceata- Komplex in Europa. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pilze in Mitteleuropa 2:57-72. Liggenstorfer, Roger. 1996. Oink, der kosmische Kicherfaktor. In Maria Sabina-Botin der heiligen Pilze, ed. Roger Liggenstorfer and Christian R~itsch, 179-82. Solothurn: Nachtschatten Verlag. Moser, M., and E. Horak. 1968. Psilocybe serbica spec. nov., eine neue Psilocybin und Psilocin bildende Art aus Serbien. ZeitschriJt fur Pilzkunde 34:137-44. Miiller, G. K., and Jochen Gartz. 1986. Psilocybe cyanescens-eine weitere halluzinogene Kahlkopfart in der DDR. Mykologisches Mitteilungsblatt 29:33-35. Tjallingii-Beukers, D. 1976. Een blauwwordernde Psilocybe (Psilocybe cyanescens Wakefield 1946). Coolia 19:38-43.