Scientific name
Psilocbe mexicana
Description
Psilocybe mexicana is a psilocybin mushroom species that produces sclerotia—hardened aggregates of mycelium that operate in nature as a mechanism for the organism to withstand harsh circumstances. This mushroom’s cap has a diameter of 0.5 to 2 cm and can be conic, campanulate, or sub umbonate in appearance. The color of the cap might be ocherous, brown, beige, or straw, occasionally with blueish or green undertones. When damaged, it is also known to become blue. This mushroom has adnate or adnexed gills that range in color from gray to purple-brown with white borders. The stalk is normally hollow, measuring 4 to 10 cm tall and 1 to 2 millimeters thick. It might be straw, brownish, or reddish-brown.
Habitat
It may grow alone or in small clusters amid the moss alongside roadsides and pathways, in humid pastures or cornfields, and especially in grassy places near deciduous forests. Common at heights ranging from 300 to 550 meters, scarce at lower elevations, and exclusively found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Fruiting occurs from May through October.
Uses/Importance
It was initially used by inhabitants of Central and North America approximately 2,000 years ago.It contains psilocybin and psilocin.Native North American populations have used Psilocybe mexicana for its psychedelic properties. Sclerotia of Psilocybe mexicana is occasionally grown for entheogenic use in the Western hemisphere. The sclerotia contain less active compounds than the mushrooms themselves.
In general, sclerotia have a lower water content than mushrooms; about 75% against 90%. Sclerotia may be more effective than many popular hallucinogenic mushroom species while fresh, however, this connection shifts after both of the mushrooms and sclerotia have been adequately dried due to moisture content differences.
Psilocybe mexicana is one of the hallucinogenic mushrooms that has been used for millennia in traditional shamanic and spiritual rites in Mexico. The indigenous peoples of Mexico, for example, the Mazatec, have long believed the mushroom to be a holy medicine.
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