A Beginner’s Guide to Identifying Psychedelic Mushroom Species For Therapy

Anna Wilde

Anna’s focus has been on alternative healing modalities, intentional living, sustainability, deconstruction, and the transcendent relationship between humans and the natural world, which she weaves into her compositions. She combines the two most important ingredients for purposeful writing: knowledge and imagination.

Who needs a trip to Vegas when you can have a wild and adventurous time foraging for magic mushrooms? While discovering potentially psychoactive fungi may be exciting, being certain in your identification is crucial.

Prehistoric artifacts from South America and Spain have indicated that psychedelic mushrooms were being harvested in indigenous communities for cultural and spiritual rituals dating as far back as 7000 BCE (Samorini, 1992).

Needless to say, these cultures somehow knew how to distinguish between toxic mushroom varieties and edible or entheogenic ones, but during colonization, many of these practices were lost in psychedelic history.

In more recent records, the first acknowledgements of these types of mushrooms in medical literature occurred in the early 1800s, and, since then, have been studied for their therapeutic effects on mental health.

If you are curious about identifying psychedelic mushroom genera, this article will cover some important considerations, beneficial tips, and resources for identifying desirable varieties. Most importantly, the intricate and complex art of identifying fungi requires more than reading an article, so be sure to check out the resources shared here to optimize identification safety.

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For harm-reduction purposes, we provide links to online psilocybin vendors, local stores, delivery services, and spore vendors for growing your own medicine at home.

The Chemical Constituants in Magic Mushrooms

During altered states of consciousness and perception, psychedelics influence the brain in a variety of ways, but the most notable modes of effect are psilocybin and psilocin.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in around 200 species of mushrooms, and is converted into psilocin in the body. These compounds mimic endogenous serotonin, triggering serotonin neuroreceptors.

They are known to interact with the 5-HT2A receptor in particular, which is involved in mood regulation and sensory perception, and this interaction leads to changes in our physiology and brain activity.

In addition to psilocybin and psilocin, other chemical compounds found in psychedelic mushrooms may also contribute to their effects, such as baeocystin and aeruginascin.

Because of their metamorphic and evolutionary capabilities to transform the human psyche, magic mushrooms are being studied for their lasting effects on conditions like depression, PTSD, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Each individual species possesses a unique potency and set of effects, so dosing safely and knowing how often to take psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic purposes somewhat depends on the species.

Safer Options Than Foraging For Psychedelic Mushrooms

For those interested in embarking on a journey of psychedelic exploration, there are potentially safer options available than foraging. One safer option is to use grow kits, which provide reliable spores, instructions, and substrate for safe and easy cultivation, which can be more predictable for magic mushroom harvesting.

While we have talked about reagent test kits in the past, which are used to test the purity of other drugs like MDMA and LSD, reliable and comprehensive at-home toxicology kits for magic mushrooms aren’t currently available on the market.

While you can find psychedelic mushroom products for therapeutic purposes online, the best way to ensure utmost safety when consuming hallucinogenic fungi is by speaking to an expert identifier.

Here at Psychedelic Passage, we offer harm-reduction and safety protocols for clients ready for a psychedelic journey. If you are in need of support during this process, we encourage you to book a consultation today.

Where Do Psychedelic Mushrooms Grow?

Mind-altering mushrooms are found in nearly every part of the world, but particularly favor cool to warm and damp climates ranging from 50-85 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity.

They typically grow in moist, shaded areas such as mossy forests, overgrown grasslands, and prairie fields, and can also grow in a variety of substrates including decaying trees, soil or compost, animal dung, and decaying plants.

Associated with many myths and lore, mushrooms often propagate in clusters or circular patterns, known as “fairy rings,” which can range in size from a few centimeters to several meters in diameter.

Some species are known to form symbiotic mycorrhizal associations with the roots of certain trees and plants, both feeding and being fed by their plant host.

The best time to find psychedelic mushrooms is typically during the rainy season or after heavy rainfall, as the increased moisture levels provide ideal conditions for their growth. Fall and spring are the best time for harvesting.

Different climates, substrates, and environments specifically associated with particular genera and mushroom varieties will be outlined briefly in the next section of this article.

Identifying The 7 Most Common Psilocybe Mushrooms

The Psilocybe genus of mushrooms is easily the most important to include here, because they make up the bulk of psychedelic mushrooms on the market. In a past article, we covered the best mushroom strains for psychedelic therapy, however, in this piece we wanted to highlight some of the best-known varieties.

Besides Psilocybe, there are other psychoactive mushrooms in other genera—including the well-known Panaeolus—but also Gymnopilus, Inocybe, and Conocybe. The genera Inocybe and Conocybe both contain poisonous species, so it’s best to avoid these groups until you are familiar and comfortable identifying minute differences between species.

However, Panaeolus—the most well-known being Panaeolus cinctulus and Panaeolus cyanescens—are dung loving mushrooms and don’t include any edible varieties, just psychedelic and toxic ones. Inocybe are extremely difficult to identify but often have a symbiotic, mycorrhizal relationship with plant hosts.

When it comes to magic mushrooms, there is something called a “little brown mushroom,” which refers to the vast majority of mushrooms closely resembling each other in spite of some being toxic and safe.

For this reason, beware that many little brown mushrooms are psychedelic or edible, while others are extremely toxic. Just be sure to do your spore tests, consult a field guide, consider the tips later in this article, and maybe get a second opinion before ingesting.

Psilocybe cubensis: ‘Golden Teachers’

This variety is the most commonly available and frequently used psychedelic mushroom species on the planet because of its easy cultivation and reliable potency.

Photo Credits: InoculateTheWorld

Distinctive Features — a golden, smooth, and sticky cap ranging from 1 to 8 centimeters with a white stem and grayish gills
Preferred Climate — warm and humid; native to subtropical and tropical regions of Central and South America but is now widely cultivated and found throughout the world
Natural Substrate — animal dung and decomposing plant matter; most commonly found in cow pastures, fields, and lawns; home cultivation usually uses brown rice flour or vermiculite