Panaeolus

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Panaeolus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Division: Basidiomycota Class: Homobasidiomycetes Order: Agaricales Family: Bolbitiaceae Genus: Panaeolus

Panaeolus is a genus of small, dark-spored, saprotrophic agarics. The word Panaeolus is Greek for "all variegated", alluding to the spotted gills of the mushrooms produced. Panaeolus includes a number of common dung and grassland species. The gills of Panaeolus do not deliquesce as do the members of the related genus Coprinus. Members of Panaeolus can also be mistaken for Psathyrella, however the later genus are usually found growing on wood.

No members of Panaeolus are used for food, though some are used as a recreational drug. Thirteen [1] species of Panaeolus contain the hallucinogen psilocybin including Panaeolus cyanescens and Panaeolus subbalteatus. The hallucinogenic members of this genus are sometimes segregated into a separate genus, Copelandia.

Several members of this genus are known to contain psilocin and psilocybin and it is suspected that a number of other members of this genus contain unidentified psychoactive compounds. [2] All members of this genus contain serotonin, urea, and tryptophan. ^[1]

[edit] Notable species

• Panaeolus acuminatus
• Panaeolus africanus
• Panaeolus antillarum
• Panaeolus bispora
• Panaeolus cambodginiensis
• Panaeolus castaneifolius
• Panaeolus cyanescens
• Panaeolus fimicola
• Panaeolus foenisecii
• Panaeolus papilionaceus
• Panaeolus semiovatus
• Panaeolus subbalteatus
• Panaeolus tropicalis

[edit] External Links

• Key to Panaeolus in the Pacific Northwest
• Panaeolus - A Genus of Toadstools
• A Worldwide Geographical Distribution of the Neurotropic Fungi
• Wikispecies - Panaeolus

[edit] References