Description

Psilocybe Semilanceata magic mushroom is known as the Liberty Cap in the USA or the Magic Shrooms in the UK. They are part of the Psilocybin Mushrooms, an informal group of fungi that contain psilocin and psilocybin. In the ancient days, Psilocybin shrooms were used in ceremonies and religious rites.

They have been depicted in Stone Age art, famously represented in the sculptures and glyphs in South and Central America. Some of those arts are also found in Europe and Africa. For example, the Indians believe that magic mushrooms can project them on a religious path to the spirit world. They call them Sacred Mushrooms.

In his 1983 monograph, the Psilocybe authority Gaston Guzman considered Psilocybe Semilanceata shrooms the most widely distributed psilocybin mushrooms worldwide. They have been reported in 17 countries, with Europe having the highest numbers. The potency lies in the psychoactive psilocybin and baeocystin compounds produced by the shrooms. They have psychedelic, euphoric and hallucinogenic effects with its psilocybin ranging from 0.2% to 2.37%.

Psilocybe means smooth and scale-less cap, Semi means half, while Lanceata means spear-shaped, describing the Psilocybe Semilanceata shrooms. They have smooth caps that are cream in colour when dry and yellow-brown when wet. They have olive tinge protrusion on the top. Their gills are greenish-grey, which turn purple as the spores mature. The gills are quite crowded and narrow with cystidia on the surface. The spores are dark purple, smooth and ellipsoidal shaped. Psilocybe Semilanceata magic shroom’s stem is long, slender wavy, and whitish with a bluish veil that deteriorates quickly. They have a strong earthy and musty smell. The taste is also earthy and robust.

The majority of the Psilocybe Semilanceata shrooms are found in the humid subtropical forest. They thrive in temperate areas like in the Northern Hemisphere. They grow in fertile and acidic soil in grasslands such as lawns, meadows, and pastures. Its favourite field is the one fertilized with cow or sheep dung. Psilocybe Semilanceata mushrooms are saprobic fungus. Instead of growing directly on the manure, they live on the decaying root remains and obtain their nutrients by breaking the organic matter down. They also form a dormant fungus called Sclerotic, which protects it from disasters like wildfires.