Galerina steglichii

🏷️ Description

Galerina steglichii, named after chemist Wolfgang Steglich, is an elusive and intriguing member of the genus Galerina in the family Strophariaceae. Described in 1993 by mycologist Helmut Besl, it holds a unique spot in fungal taxonomy and psychoactive research due to its psilocybin content. Here's everything you need to know about this rare gem of the fungal world! 🌍✨

🌈 While Galerina steglichii has captured attention for its psychoactive properties, its extreme rarity and uncertain origins make it a mycological enigma. 🍂🔍

🔎 Identification

🍄 Cap:

• Size: 7–13 mm wide, 2–3 mm thick.

• Appearance: Convex to plane, brown, hygrophanous (color fades as it dries).

• Texture: Smooth and matte, with a lighter edge that turns bluish-black as it ages.

• Shape: Initially conical to hemispherical; flattens with age but retains a small central hump.

🌿 Gills:

• Size: 13–15 mm long.

• Attachment: Adnate to decurrent (running down the stem).

• Color: Yellowish when young, turning yellow-brown to rust-brown with age.

📏 Stem:

• Size: 12–23 mm long, 0.8–2.2 mm wide.

• Color: Brown to reddish-brown, lighter towards the top.

• Texture: Hollow and slightly thicker at the base.

🔬 Microscopic Features:

• Spores: Rusty-orange to brown, 8.5–10 × 5–5.8 μm, almond to lemon-shaped, with a smooth area (plague).

• Cystidia: Large sterile cells (30–50 × 12–18 μm) with resinous excretions at the tips.

🗓️ Season: August–November.

🌍 Habitat: Its natural habitat remains unknown but is suspected to be tropical.

💡 Fun Facts & Notes

• Growth Habit: Often solitary, in small clusters, or a few scattered individuals.

• Bruising: Bluish discoloration on the cap and gills, especially near the base.

• Rarity: Only recorded once, making it exceptionally rare and poorly documented.

• Psychoactivity: Contains psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin, yet lacks the amatoxins found in other toxic Galerina species.

📜 Taxonomy and Systematics

• Described by: Helmut Besl in 1993.

• Section: Physocystis (part of the non-monophyletic genus Galerina).

• Molecular Studies: Not yet performed, but its classification remains under debate.

Photo sources: Andreas Gminder