Conocybula cyanopus

🏷️ Description

Meet Conocybula cyanopus, a rare and fascinating little mushroom that packs a psychedelic punch! This tiny fungus, formerly known as Conocybe cyanopus and Pholiotina cyanopus, has undergone several taxonomic shifts before finding its current home in the genus Conocybula in 2024. Despite its small size, it contains psychoactive compounds, including psilocybin and the rare aeruginascin, making it a topic of intrigue for mycologists and psychonauts alike.

🧐 Special Features & Fun Facts

• Blue-Staining Mycelium: The base of the stem often bruises bluish-green due to psilocybin oxidation.

• Lawn-Lover: Unlike many psilocybin-containing mushrooms that prefer woodlands, this species thrives in grassy environments.

• Sclerotia Formation: Similar to Psilocybe tampanensis, it may form sclerotia—hardened mycelial structures that help it survive harsh conditions like wildfires.

🔎 Identification

• Cap: 0.39 to 0.98 inches (1 to 2.5 cm) wide, conic to broadly convex, smooth, ocher to cinnamon brown, with a striate margin often adorned with fibrous veil remnants. It lightens to tan as it dries.

• Gills: Adnate, close, cinnamon brown with white edges near the margin, darkening with age.

• Spores: Cinnamon brown, smooth, ellipsoid with a germ pore, measuring ~8 × 5 µm.

• Stem: 0.79 to 1.57 inches (2 to 4 cm) long, 1–1.5 mm thick, fragile, smooth, white at the base and brownish at the top, with no ring. The base often bruises blue.

• Odor & Taste: Pungent, reminiscent of illuminating gas; mild to slightly bitter taste.

• Spore Print: Rusty brown.

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

A rare find, Conocybula cyanopus thrives in lawns, fields, grassy areas, and mossy environments in temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. Recorded locations include:

• North America: Canada (British Columbia, Quebec), USA (Colorado, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Washington).

• Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia (Sakha Republic, Sikhote-Alin mountains), Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.

• Asia: Reports exist, though limited documentation.

While it has been mentioned in the UK, its presence there remains unconfirmed.

👀 Look-Alikes

• Pholiotina smithii: Almost identical but favors mossy environments and has slightly longer spores.

• Galerina marginata: Deadly poisonous, similar brownish cap, but with a ring on the stem.

• Psilocybe semilanceata: Also psychoactive but has a more conical cap and a gelatinous pellicle.

⚖️ Legal Status

The legality of Conocybula cyanopus follows that of psilocybin mushrooms worldwide. In many countries, including the US and UK, psilocybin and psilocin are classified as Schedule I/Class A substances under the United Nations’ 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. However, the legal status of spores and cultivation varies—always check local laws before foraging or handling.

🧪 Psychoactive Compounds & Edibility

Like its psychoactive relatives (Psilocybe semilanceata, Psilocybe mexicana), Conocybula cyanopus contains psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin. Potency varies, with recorded levels:

• Psilocybin: 0.33–1.01% (dry weight)

• Psilocin: 0–0.17%

• Baeocystin: 0.12–0.20%

• Norbaeocystin: 0.053%

• Aeruginascin: 0.011%

⚠️ Caution! This mushroom closely resembles deadly toxic species such as Pholiotina rugosa, Cortinarius gentilis, and Galerina marginata. Misidentification could be fatal—best to admire it rather than consume it!

Photo sources: Psylosymon