Psilocybe graveolens
🏷️ Description
Psilocybe graveolens is a rare and fascinating psilocybin mushroom, cherished for its unique characteristics and elusive nature. Discovered in the salt marshes of Hackensack, New Jersey, this mushroom offers both a sensory challenge and an intellectual intrigue for mycologists and enthusiasts alike.
🌟 A Mushroom Like No Other: Named for its "heavy smell" (Latin: gravis and olens), Psilocybe graveolens offers more than meets the eye—or nose. Though difficult to find, with only a handful of specimens collected in its known habitat, this mushroom inspires awe and curiosity. Its shifting scent, nuanced bruising patterns, and historic obscurity make it a true treasure of mycology.
✨ Fun Fact: The drying process dramatically changes its odor, transforming it from overpowering to delightfully reminiscent of a "new car" air freshener!
🔎 Identification
Cap: Measuring 0.39 to 1.57 inches (1 to 4 cm) in diameter, the cap is convex to subumbonate, sometimes with a slight depression. Its hues transition from brownish to golden yellow or whitish, occasionally with a dark green tint. The flesh is pallid brownish and emits a strong, persistent odor.
Gills: Close and adnexed, these range from yellowish-brown to chocolate-brown, with lighter edges adding contrast.
Spore Print: Dark purple-brown.
Stem: Standing 1.57 to 2.36 inches (4 to 6 cm) tall and 2–5 mm thick, the stipe is white to brownish, with greenish or violaceous tones. It features rhizomorphic strands at its base and an evanescent annulus that vanishes quickly.
Bruising: Displays greenish hints in some areas, darkening to brown or violet when handled.
Odor and Taste: A farinaceous aroma and flavor define this mushroom, with its scent transforming from unpleasantly strong when fresh to a pleasant "new car" fragrance as it dries.
🔬 Microscopic Features
Spores: Ellipsoid, measuring 7–10.5 μm x 4.5–6 μm.
Cystidia: Both pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia are present.
Basidia: Four-spored.
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Psilocybe graveolens thrives in November on the rich loam of salt marshes, growing in cespitose (clustered) to gregarious patterns. It is exceptionally rare, with reports suggesting it hasn't been widely documented or photographed for nearly a century.
