Psilocybe stametsii
| Psilocybe stametsii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hymenogastraceae |
| Genus: | Psilocybe |
| Species: | P. stametsii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Psilocybe stametsii | |
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Psilocybe stametsii is a newly discovered species belonging to the genus Psilocybe. This group has ancestral uses and is now being studied as a therapeutic in modern medicine due to its production of psilocybin. In February of 2023, Psilocybe stametsii was named after the famous mycologist Paul Stamets for his contributions to the field of mycology.[1] At the moment, it remains uncertain if Psilocybe stametsii possesses any psychedelic alkaloids. Because only two specimens of this type of mushroom have been located so far, it might require additional discoveries before its chemical composition can be examined.
The discovery was made in Ecuador's Los Cedros Biological Reserve, a protected area under the Rights of Nature articles in the Ecuadorian constitution. The mushroom was collected twice, first in 2011 by Dr. Bryn Dentinger of the University of Utah and a colleague, and again in 2022 by Giuliana Furci of the Fungi Foundation and her associates, including author Robert Macfarlane and musician Cosmo Sheldrake.[1] The species is the first to be named after Stamets.
Description
Like most entheogenic mushrooms, it is colored in shades of brown and blends in with its decaying leaves and soil background. The species' prominent feature is the sharp, pointy cap, an attribute other close relatives in the Psilocybe group share. Phylogenetically, it is most analogous to an environmental DNA sequence from the soil in China and evolutionarily distinct from the other closely related known species of Psilocybe described from Bolivia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.[1]
Psilocybe stametsii is a dainty mushroom that reaches a height of about 1¾ inches (4.5 cm) and has a cap that is approximately ½ inch (1.5 cm) wide. It has a sharply pointed nipple cap and starts as a deep brown in the center, transitioning to a brownish cream towards the flared and sometimes frilly edges. The stem of this mushroom is equally fragile, with a slightly frosted appearance. It is rarely seen growing alone, as it blends in with the soil and decomposing leaves in the background. A notable feature is the sharp, pointed umbo, an attribute shared by other close relatives such as Psilocybe yungensis, also reported in Ecuador.[2]
Cap: Pointed cap with sharp nipple — giving it the appearance of a “witch’s hat.” This can be noted in other Psilocybe species, and it looks remarkably like Psilocybe semilanceata (Liberty Cap) mushrooms that have opened out as they have matured[3]
Pileus: The pileus is brown at the center, turning cream towards the outside of the cap, viscid becoming dry, striate, conical to campanulate with a distinct, sharp umbo or papillate, margin turns plicate in growth. Very thin, up to 1.1-5 cm diameter. The lamellae are pale brownish-cream colored at first, becoming light brown in age, subdistant with two sets of lamellulae, broad, adnexed or sinuate. Sporome is 3.5-4.5 cm tall.[1]
Stipe: The stipe is centered and bare with no ring or vulva, terete, equal to flexuous, slightly stuffed becoming hollow; exterior slightly pruinose, dry, deep brown/blackish at the base fading to red and then pale orange at the apex, up to 3-4 cm long, c.1 mm diameter.[1]
Spores: Spores in 5% potassium hydroxide solution show smooth, small, subrhomboid to rhomboid shaped basidospores with slightly thickened cell walls and germ pore, and microscopy shows a translucent-brown color under the microscope. Cystidia are present in microscopy analysis. Slight bluing on the stipe when damaged.[4]
Spore Dimensions:
Min (μm): 5.20, 3.83
Max (μm): 5.78, 4.42
Mean (μm): 5.53, 4.14
(Psilocybe Stametsii, n.d.)[1]
Ecology and habitat
Substrate in soil in Chocó Andino cloud forest and is mycorrhizal. Psilocybe stametsii presents the typical palette of brown tones that allow it to camouflage with its environment of leaves and soil (leaf-litter environment). Psilocybe stametsii was found in a cloud forest located in Ecuador, which is a type of mountainous forest that receives a high amount of rainfall. Due to the cool mountain air current, the humid air constantly moves upwards, resulting in persistent condensation and almost constant cloud cover across the forest.[1] These tropical mountain biomes are abundant in plant and fungi life despite having thin soils with low nutrients. Most of the forest floor is covered in leaves, while the remaining parts are covered in moss, lichen, and fungi. In most areas of the forest, only two percent of the daylight is able to penetrate the canopy, mid-layer, and reach the forest floor, causing the ground level to be surprisingly dark.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Psilocybe stametsii". www.ffungi.org. Fungi Foundation. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ↑ Stamets, Paul (1996). Psilocybin mushrooms of the world: an identification guide. Berkeley, Calif: Ten Speed Press. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-89815-839-7. OCLC 34514700. Search this book on
- ↑ Taxonomy. (n.d.-a). Taxonomy browser (Psilocybe). Taxonomy browser (Psilocybe)
- ↑ "Psilocybe stametsii Dentinger & Furci, sp. nov" (PDF). Index Fungorum (529). 27 February 2023. ISSN 2049-2375.
- ↑ Haug, Ingeborg; Setaro, Sabrina; Suárez, Juan Pablo (16 August 2019). "Species composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal communities changes with elevation in the Andes of South Ecuador". PLOS ONE. 14 (8): e0221091. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1421091H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221091. PMC 6697372 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 31419262.
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