Psilocybe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article or section is missing citation of sources.
You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations.
iPsilocybe (Fr.) P. Kumm. (1871)
Psilocybe cyanescens
Psilocybe cyanescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Subdivision: Hymenomycotina
Class: Homobasidiomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Strophariaceae
Genus: Psilocybe
Type Species
Psilocybe montana (Pers.) P. Kumm. (1871)
Species

Many (see text)

Psilocybe is a genus of agarics that is best known for its hallucinogenic species — the so-called "magic mushrooms" or teonanácatl (literally "god mushroom" - agglutinative form of teó(ti) (god) and nanácatl (mushroom) in Náhuatl).

Contents

[edit] Biological aspects

Psilocybe fruiting bodies are typically small, undistinguished mushrooms with a typical "little brown mushroom" morphology. Macroscopically, they are characterized by their small to occasionally medium size, brown to orange-white coloration, hygrophanous pileus, and a spore print-color that ranges from medium gray-brown to dark purple-brown (though rusty-brown colored varieties are known in at least one species). Hallucinogenic species typically have a blue-staining reaction when the fruiting body is bruised. Microscopically, they are characterized by cutis-type pileipellis, lack of chrysocystidia, and spores that are smooth, ellipsoid to rhomboid to subhexagonal in shape, with a distinct apical germ pore. Ecologically, all species of Psilocybe are saprotrophs, growing on various kinds of decaying organic matter.

A recent study of the molecular phylogeny of the agarics by Moncalvo, et al. (2002)[1] indicates that the genus Psilocybe as presently defined is polyphyletic, falling into two distinct clades that are not directly related to each other. The blue-staining hallucinogenic species constitute one clade and the non-bluing species constitute the other. The type species (Psilocybe montana) is in the non-bluing clade.

Psilocybe is placed taxonomically in the agaric family Strophariaceae based upon its spore and pileipellis morphology. However, molecular studies indicate that the Strophariaceae may be a polyphyletic grouping of several clades that are fairly close to each other, but not necessarily sister taxa, hence, the precise relationship of Psilocybe to other agaric genera awaits further study. The phylogenetic study by Moncalvo, et al. (2002)[2] has confirmed that the agaric genus Melanotus is simply a subgroup of the non-bluing Psilocybe, and also points to a close relationship between the latter group and the genera Kuehneromyces and Phaeogalera.

Geographically, species in this genus are found throughout the world in most biomes, with the exception of high deserts. For the bluing Psilocybe, the greatest species diversity seems to be in the neotropics, from Mesoamerica through Brazil and Chile (Guzman 1983). Psilocybe are found in a variety of habitats and substrates. Many of the bluing species found in temperate regions, such as P. cyanescens, seem to have an affinity for landscaped areas mulched with woodchips and are actually rather rare in natural settings removed from human habitation. Contrary to popular belief, only a minority of Psilocybe species, such as P. coprophila and P. cubensis, grow directly on dung. Many other species are found in habitats such as mossy, grassy, or forest humus soils.

[edit] Chemistry and pharmacology

The blue-staining species of Psilocybe are characterized by the presence of psilocin and psilocybin. The blue-staining reaction, while not completely understood, is thought to be a caused by a degradation reaction of psilocin, hence the degree of bluing in a Psilocybe fruiting body correlates directly with the concentration of psilocin in the mushroom. Psilocybin is chemically far more stable than psilocin, the latter compound being largely lost when the mushroom is heated or dried.

Psilocin and psilocybin are hallucinogenic compounds and are responsible for the psychoactive effects of these mushrooms. (See Psilocybin for a more in-depth discussion of the pharmacology of psilocybin and psilocin.)

Some psychoactive species contain baeocystin and norbaeocystin in addition to psilocin and psilocybin.

[edit] History and ethnography

Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer (a prehistoric North African site identified with the Capsian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as depicting the shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly Psilocybe.[3] This interpretation remains controversial, however.

Hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate that ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones have been found in pre-Classic sites from Guatemala to El Salvador, though there is considerable controversy whether these objects are associated with the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms or whether the objects had some other significance and the mushroom shape is simply coincidence. More concretely, a statuette dating from ca. 200 CE and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling Psilocybe mexicana was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in Colima state.

Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the Mexicans as teonanácatl (literally "god mushroom" - agglutinative form of teó(ti) (god) and nanácatl (mushroom) in Náhuatl) and were reportedly served at the coronation of Moctezuma II in 1502. After the Spanish conquest, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, was forcibly suppressed and driven underground. According to the Spanish, the mushroom allowed the Mexicans and others to communicate with "devils". In order to gain control over the people they had to convert them to Christianity, and in doing so the Spanish pushed for a switch from teonanácatl to the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist. Despite this history, in some remote areas the use of teonanácatl has remained.

By the 20th century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Indians to have disappeared entirely. Some authors even held that Mesoamerican cultures did not use mushrooms as hallucinogens at all and that the Spanish had simply mistaken peyote for a mushroom. Later investigations by Blas Pablo Reko, Richard Evans Schultes, and R. Gordon Wasson demonstrated that hallucinogenic mushrooms were still widely used by several indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Mazatecs of Oaxaca.

At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others. There has not, however, been any confirmed observations of hallucinogenic mushroom use among the Maya peoples, either in the pre-Columbian or post-Contact eras.

In 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery (even publishing an article on their experiences in Life in 1957). In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as Psilocybe and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first identified psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms.

Inspired by the Wassons' Life article, Timothy Leary traveled to Mexico to experience hallucinogenic mushrooms firsthand. Upon returning to Harvard in 1960, he and Richard Alpert started the Harvard Psilocybin Project, promoting psychological and religious study of psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs. After Leary and Alpert were dismissed by Harvard in 1963, they turned their attention toward evangelizing the psychedelic experience to the nascent hippie counterculture.

The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Leary, and others has lead to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic Psilocybe throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive Psilocybe species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating Psilocybe cubensis in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic Psilocybe from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.

[edit] Medical and psychiatric aspects

Among some groups of Mesoamerican natives, hallucinogenic Psilocybe have been used by native healers for centuries for divining the causes of illness and as part of psychological counseling. Contemporary researchers have generally preferred to use purified psilocybin in medical and psychiatric research, though in practice, whole Psilocybe cubensis is often used.

For details on contemporary research, see: Psilocybin: Medicine.

[edit] Social and legal aspects

Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[4] Schedule I drugs are drugs with a high potential for abuse that have no recognized medical uses. Parties to the treaty are required to restrict use of the drug to medical and scientific research under strictly controlled conditions. Most national drug laws have been amended to reflect this convention (for example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), with possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin being prohibited under almost all circumstances, and often carrying severe legal penalties.

Possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms, including the bluing species of Psilocybe, is therefore prohibited by extension. However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places. The legal status of Psilocybe spores is even more ambiguous, as the spores contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin, and hence are not illegal to sell or possess in many jurisdictions, though many jurisdictions will prosecute under broader laws prohibiting items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia, and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state have ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance.

Some specific laws regarding psilocybin mushrooms are listed here:

  • In the British Virgin Islands, where the mushrooms grow naturally, it is legal to possess and consume psilocybin mushrooms, however their sale is illegal.
  • In Bulgaria, possession and consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms is legal, but psilocybin in its pure form is considered a "Class 1" drug.
  • In the Czech Republic, a law legalizing the possession of small amounts of psilocybin mushrooms for personal use has been passed by the Czech Parliament and is considered likely to be signed by the Czech president. If passed, the law will go into effect in 2007.[5]
  • In Denmark, sale, possession, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms were legal up until 2002, when the governmental prohibited what they called "designer drugs", outlawing them along with a number of other hallucinogens and empathogens.
  • In Japan, it was legal to possess and sell psilocybin mushrooms until June 2002. Possession was made illegal in 2002, possibly in preparation for the World Cup, and in response to a widely reported case of mushroom poisoning.
  • In Mexico, psilocin and psilocybin are prohibited under the Ley General de Salud of 1984, which also specifically mentions psilocybin-containing fungi as being covered by the law, and mentions Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe cubensis in particular.[6] However, these laws are rarely, if ever, enforced against indigenous users of psychoactive fungi. The Mexican government has also specifically taken the position that wild occurrence of Psilocybe does not constitute drug production.[7]
  • In the Netherlands, unprocessed psychoactive mushrooms are legal to possess and are treated as soft drugs under the Netherlands' drug policy. However, when prepared, the product (dried mushrooms, tea, or powder) may be construed as illegal. Because of this, there are numerous drug shops selling fresh mushrooms in the Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam.
  • In Norway, possession of the indigenous Psilocybe semilanceata has been illegal since 1977. In 2004, all mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocin, in particular Psilocybe cubensis, were outlawed.
  • In the United States, psilocybin and psilocybe mushrooms are regulated under DEA Schedule 1, making them illegal to possess under federal law. (Researchers and their subjects are granted exemptions by the DEA.) Under state law, it is illegal to possess psilocybin mushrooms in all states except New Mexico and Florida.
    • A New Mexico appeals court ruled on June 16, 2005, that growing psilocybin mushrooms for personal consumption could not be considered "manufacturing a controlled substance" under state law. [8]
    • The Florida Supreme Court in 1978 ruled that possession of wild psilocybin mushrooms is not illegal per se, since Florida state law has not specifically addressed possession of psilocybin mushrooms. However, whether knowingly gathering wild psilocybin mushrooms for later use is illegal or not was not addressed in the decision.[9]
    • Psilocybin mushroom spores are legal to sell and possess in every state except California, Idaho, and Georgia.[10]
  • In the United Kingdom, possession of unprocessed mushrooms is illegal. As a result of new laws unveiled on January 18, 2005, psilocybin mushrooms are now classified as a Class A substance under UK law.[11] Prior to these laws being passed, possession and use of psilocybin and psilocin was prohibited, but courts had ruled the law did not apply to naturally-occurring substances containing these compounds, and for a brief period Psilocybe cubensis and other psilocybin mushrooms were sold in farmers markets.

[edit] Pronunciation and usage

The word psilocybe comes from the Greek words ψιλος + κυβη and literally means "bare headed", referring to the mushroom's plain cap. It may be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable (IPA [ˈsɪləˌsaɪbi]; MWCD [ˈsi-lə-ˌsī-bē]) or the second (IPA [saɪˈlɒsəbi]; MWCD [sī-ˈlä-sə-bē]). The final e is not silent. The marked difference between the Botanical Latin-based pronunciation (given here) and anglicized colloquial pronunciations (with a silent "e") is sometimes a source of confusion in oral communication about this genus.

Some mushrooms other than blue-staining Psilocybe, most notably Panaeolus (=Copelandia) cyanescens and its relatives, contain psilocybin and psilocin in active quantities. The more general term "psilocybin mushrooms" or "psilocybian mushrooms" is used to refer collectively to all mushrooms that contain active quantities of psilocybin and psilocin. Conversely, inactive species of Psilocybe would not be included in that category.

[edit] Notable species

  • Psilocybe cubensis, (= Stropharia cubensis); the most commonly grown and consumed Psilocybe, due to ease of cultivation and large size of carpophores; also commonly collected throughout the tropics and subtropics, including the US Gulf Coast; nicknamed the commercial psilocybe.
  • Psilocybe semilanceata, found in northern temperate climates; nicknamed the liberty cap.
  • Psilocybe cyanescens, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, but also found in western Europe; nicknamed the wavy-cap or wavies.
  • Psilocybe azurescens, a highly potent species native to Oregon, but popular in outdoor cultivation, and expanding its range as a result; nicknamed azies.

See "List of Psilocybe species" for a more complete list of psychoactive species.

[edit] References and further reading

[edit] External links

[edit] General information

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] History and ethnography

[edit] Legal aspects

[edit] Other

[edit] See also


Psychedelic mushrooms edit

Amanita gemmata, Amanita muscaria, Amanita pantherina, Index of Psilocybe, Panaeolus subbalteatus, Psilocybe, Psilocybe azurescens, Psilocybe baeocystis, Psilocybe bohemica, Psilocybe cyanescens, Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe mexicana, Psilocybe semilanceata, Psilocybe tampanensis, Psilocybe weilii
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/s/i/Psilocybe.html"