Psilocybe aztecorum

Description

Known for its rich cultural significance, Psilocybe aztecorum is a small yet remarkable mushroom with a storied history tied to Aztec spirituality. This mushroom’s convex to bell-shaped cap shifts from chestnut brown to straw yellow as it dries, revealing its hygrophanous nature. The slender stem stands tall at 7.5 cm (3 in), with its base adorned with distinctive white rhizomorphic cords 🌿 — a feature uncommon among its relatives.

🌎 Habitat & Range: Thriving in high-elevation regions from the Canadian boreal forests down to the mountainous areas of Mexico and Costa Rica, P. aztecorum enjoys cool, grassy meadows and coniferous forests between 2,000 and 4,000 meters (6,600–13,100 ft). This fungus prefers woody debris for growth, nestled among the roots of Montezuma pines and sacred firs 🌲.

🌌 Ancient Aztec Legacy & Rituals: Named after the Aztec people, who used it in sacred ceremonies, P. aztecorum is thought to be one of the legendary teonanácatl or "flesh of the gods" mushrooms 🍄🌈, used in ancient divinatory rituals to connect with the spiritual realm. The name apipiltzin (Nahuatl for "children of the water") hints at its preference for lush, moist environments near ravines.

🔬 A Closer Look: Similar Species & Varieties: While Psilocybe baeocystis and P. quebecensis bear close resemblance, they differ in minor microscopic traits. The variety P. aztecorum var. bonetii has smaller spores and thrives at slightly lower elevations 🌄, where it mingles with local flora in sacred environments.

🌿 Modern Spiritual & Medicinal Use: Today, P. aztecorum retains its ceremonial role among indigenous communities in Oaxaca and Popocatépetl, used by traditional healers known as curanderos in healing and vision-inducing rituals. With its moderate psychoactive potency, it remains a spiritual ally, bridging ancient wisdom and modern curiosity ✨.

Mushroom Identification

🧢 Cap

• Shape: Starts convex to bell-shaped, sometimes with a broad umbo, flattening with age. Eventually, a slight depression forms in the center.

• Size: Small, only 1.5–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) wide.

• Texture: Slimy to the touch with moist translucent striations on the margin.

• Color: Very hygrophanous, shifting from yellowish-brown or golden to brownish-gray, with greenish edges in youth, turning whitish with age. Dried caps appear straw-colored to pale brownish.

• Bluing: A faint green-blue stain may appear along the margin but lacks a strong bluing reaction.

🍃 Gills

• Attachment: Adnate or adnexed (slightly attached to or reaching the stem).

• Color: Light violet-gray when young, darkening to violet-brown, often with whitish edges.

📏 Stem

• Dimensions: Tall, 5.5–7.5 cm (2.2–3 in), 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) thick, and hollow.

• Appearance: Smooth, silky-fibrillose, usually whitish to grayish, staining blue-green with age or handling.

• Base: Covered with white, hair-like rhizomorphs.

• Veil: Young mushrooms have a cobweb-like veil that fades, occasionally leaving a fragile ring.

🌸 Flesh

• Color: Whitish to yellowish in the cap, reddish-brown in the stem, with minimal bluing when bruised.

• Odor & Taste: Mildly flour-like when fresh; stronger when dried.

🦠 Spore Print

• Color: Blackish-violet.

🔬 Microscopic Features

• Spores: Elongated-ellipsoid, often resembling a "mango" shape, dark yellowish-brown with a germ pore.

• Size: 12–14 x 6.6–7.7 x 6–7.5 μm (smaller in variety bonetii).

• Basidia: Club-shaped, mostly four-spored.

• Cystidia: Fusoid-ampullaceous with narrow necks, forming a sterile band on the gill edges.

🌳 Habitat & Distribution

• Growth: Lignicolous, thriving on decaying wood, leaves, twigs, and sometimes pine cones. Fruits in clusters of 5–20 mushrooms.

• Environment: Found in alpine woodlands with Hartweg's pine, grasses, and certain herbaceous plants, at elevations of 3,200–4,000 m (10,500–13,100 ft).

• Location: Known only from the high mountains of central Mexico, like Sierra Nevada and Nevado de Toluca.

• Season: Typically fruits between August and October. Variety bonetii fruits from August to November in Montezuma pine and sacred fir forests at slightly lower elevations (2,000–3,300 m / 6,600–10,800 ft).

Synonyms

1. Psilocybe mexicana var. longispora Heim (1956)

2. Psilocybe quebecensis Ola'h & R. Heim (1967)

Photo sources:

Photo 1-3 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 2-3 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Alan Rockefeller