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Psilocybia / The Index / Species record

The Psilocybe Index / Species account

Psilocybe cubensis

(Earle) Singer

Taxonomy: acceptedChemistry: Limited quantitative evidenceMolecular data: Source-checked

Researched and source-checked by the Psilocybia editorial process. This first account covers selected sources; section notes identify remaining research. Assay ranges describe studied specimens, not an expected species concentration.

01Overview

Source-checked

This account combines checked nomenclature, a published morphological key and one assay of cultivated material. A 2026 study distinguishes the African relative P. ochraceocentrata; older records require attention to species boundaries. [index-fungorum-290107-2026] [melo-2016] [bradshaw-2026-africa] [gotvaldova-2022]

This is a scientific reference record, not field-identification guidance.

02Nomenclature

Accepted name
Psilocybe cubensis
Authority
(Earle) Singer
Family
Agrocybaceae
Publication year
1948
Basionym
Stropharia cubensis Earle
Taxonomic status
accepted
MycoBank identifier
Not yet researched — verification required
Index Fungorum identifier
290107
Synonyms (4 recorded names)
  • Stropharia cubensis Earle
  • Naematoloma caerulescens Pat.
  • Hypholoma caerulescens (Pat.) Sacc. & Trotter
  • Psilocybe fasciata Hongo

Nomenclatural sources: [index-fungorum-290107-2026] [niskanen-2026] [species-fungorum-290107-2026]

Research completeness

taxonomy
Human reviewed — J Dale, 2026-09-29

Core nomenclature and the selected family treatment are source-checked. MycoBank could not be accessed; original name publications and exhaustive synonymy remain pending. This is a scoped account, not a completed taxonomic revision.

overview
preliminary

Source-checked introduction to the scoped account.

description
preliminary

Selected published characters checked; comprehensive modern redescription remains pending.

ecology
preliminary

Only the cited source context has been checked; substrate and seasonal synthesis remain pending.

distribution
preliminary

Source-backed localities or taxonomic context only; no occurrence dataset or exhaustive range assessment.

chemistry
preliminary

One study, five compounds and its collection metadata source-checked. Additional studies, supplementary per-sample values and a full literature synthesis remain pending.

molecular
preliminary

Published molecular findings checked; no independent sequence analysis.

history
preliminary

Limited nomenclatural or typification history. Original publications and broader historical research remain pending.

conservation
not researched

Not researched in this account. No absence claim is made.

03Taxonomic description

Taxonomic description. These characters are presented for scientific reference and are not intended as field-identification guidance.

Macroscopic characters

Source-checked

The Brazilian published key places P. cubensis among taxa with a partial veil and fruit bodies that turn blue. These key characters are not a full specimen description. [melo-2016]

Microscopic characters

Source-checked

The same key characterizes P. cubensis with pleurocystidia and hexagonal basidiospores measuring 13–16 × 7–10 µm. This is a key-derived summary; further specimen-based comparison is pending. [melo-2016]

04Distribution and ecology

Source-checked

The 2026 paper notes the original Cuban description and distinguishes African material formerly identified as P. cubensis as P. ochraceocentrata. A reconciled global distribution has not been compiled for this account. [bradshaw-2026-africa]

Known range
Not yet researched
Countries with documented material
Not yet researched
Habitats
Not yet researched
Substrates
Not yet researched
Ecological associations
Not yet researched
Seasonality
Not yet researched

Ecological context

Source-checked

The 2026 study’s abstract describes P. cubensis as specialized on domesticated cattle dung. The chemistry study extracted here instead sampled cultivated material; it does not establish wild habitat. [bradshaw-2026-africa] [gotvaldova-2022]

Occurrence records

3,319 georeferenced records, shown as 2,030 distinct positions at this scale. Records carry 58 country codes, 16 of which rest on a single record. Full-precision records are available from the citable source dataset.

Recorded observations are not equivalent to true biological range. Absence of records does not demonstrate absence of a species.

Occurrence provenance & map methods
Licence / retrieval date
CC BY-NC 4.0 / 2026-09-15
Coordinate uncertainty
Reported for 2,698 of 3,319 plotted records. Median 689 m; 667 records at 30 m or finer; coarsest 2937 km. Points are plotted at source precision, so precision varies by orders of magnitude within this map.
Sensitive records
unreviewed
Countries with georeferenced records
US (1,036) · MX (710) · CO (434) · AU (332) · BR (224) · CR (146) · PA (93) · AR (67) · EC (44) · PR (25) · HN (24) · DO (17) · VE (13) · IN (12) · SV (10) · UY (10) · ZA (9) · KE (8) · TH (8) · GT (6) · JM (6) · MQ (6) · NP (6) · PE (6) · CU (4) · NI (4) · PH (4) · PY (4) · ES (3) · GB (3) · GF (3) · GP (3) · MY (3) · TT (3) · VN (3) · BO (2) · CA (2) · CH (2) · CN (2) · CZ (2) · EE (2) · HK (2) · AT (1) · BB (1) · BT (1) · BZ (1) · CG (1) · CW (1) · FJ (1) · GH (1) · GY (1) · HT (1) · KH (1) · RS (1) · SR (1) · TL (1) · TW (1) · ZW (1)

Points are plotted at source precision on an equirectangular projection. Two records falling on the same rendered pixel appear as one mark; the downloadable dataset is not reduced. Records published under names this reference has not reconciled, including synonyms, infraspecific taxa and sequence clusters, are excluded rather than reassigned.

05Chemistry

Measurements belong to studies, specimens and methods. A single concentration cannot stand in for a species.

Published assays · Measurements retain their original methodological context.
Study / yearMaterialMethodRecord
Extensive Collection of Psychotropic Mushrooms with Determination of Their Tryptamine Alkaloids / 2022Dried fruiting bodiesUHPLC–MS/MS (triple quadrupole; positive electrospray; dynamic multiple reaction monitoring)Details ↓
gotvaldova-2022-cubensis-table-1 — specimen, methods & measurements
Source location
Table 1, Psilocybe cubensis row; sections 3.2–3.4; Supplementary Table S1
Verification
Source checked; see evidence trail
Measurement basis
dry mass
Specimen
Whole fruiting bodies; collection IDs and available vouchers are listed below.
Material
Dried fruiting bodies
Sample size
9
Sample counting basis
9 fruiting bodies (fb), from 4 collections (n); Table 1 definitions.
Provenance
Cultivated collections; geographic origin not specified in Table S1.
Analytical method
UHPLC–MS/MS (triple quadrupole; positive electrospray; dynamic multiple reaction monitoring)
Preparation
Dried, homogenized fruiting bodies; acidified methanol extraction and re-extraction (section 3.3).
Storage
Dried material kept in darkness at 20 °C (section 3.2). Collection and analysis dates are retained below; exact storage durations are not inferred.
psilocybin
0.651–3.509 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
psilocin
0.208–5.344 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
baeocystin
0.139–0.881 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
norbaeocystin
0.044–0.161 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
aeruginascin
0.026–0.053 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.

Collections in the source

Dates retain the precision reported by the study. These collections underlie the aggregate ranges; individual concentrations have not been inferred.

L-09 · cultivation
Collected
March 2016
Analysed
May 2016
Voucher
Not reported
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

L-12 · cultivation
Collected
April 2014
Analysed
May 2016
Voucher
PRM 952711
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

H-20 · cultivation
Collected
27.01.2017
Analysed
April 2018
Voucher
Not reported
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

H-21 · cultivation
Collected
24.02.2017
Analysed
April 2018
Voucher
Not reported
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

Aggregate dry-mass ranges from one study. Supplementary collection metadata is transcribed; individual concentrations from the supplementary heatmap are not extracted. No species mean or unit conversion is supplied.

Read source record

Modern quantitative assays

Source-checked

Gotvaldová et al. (2022) used UHPLC–MS/MS to measure five tryptamine alkaloids in 9 fruiting bodies from 4 collections. [gotvaldova-2022]

Evidence assessment

Source-checked

One quantitative study is extracted here. The category describes this account’s coverage; a complete literature assessment is pending. [gotvaldova-2022]

Assessments depend on material, preparation, storage, sampling and analytical methods. Measurements are literature records, not predictions of effects.

How chemistry records are structured ↗

06Molecular evidence

Source-checked

Bradshaw et al. (2024) report the PsiD–PsiM–PsiH–PsiK biosynthetic gene order previously documented for P. cubensis within their Clade II comparison. Genomic evidence is distinct from chemical measurement of fruiting bodies. [bradshaw-2024]

07History

Source-checked

The checked name record traces the species to Stropharia cubensis Earle (1906) and Singer’s 1948 combination in Psilocybe. The original publications have not yet been inspected. [index-fungorum-290107-2026]

A place for the historical record

This account records the nomenclatural history checked so far. Broader historical research remains pending; interpretations must stay connected to their documentary sources.

Reading the scientific record ↗

08Conservation

Not yet researched

Conservation assessments have not yet been researched for this account.

Assessment status
Not yet researched
Assessment authority / year
Not verified / Not verified

Not researched by Psilocybia, not assessed by a conservation authority, and Least Concern are different states. None should be inferred from another.

09Images & specimens

No verified, licensed scientific images supplied

Space is reserved for field photographs, herbarium specimens, microscopy and historical plates, with source and licence metadata.

Photographs are not presented as sufficient for mushroom identification.

10References

  1. Alexander J. Bradshaw; Virginia Ramírez-Cruz; Ali R. Awan; Giuliana Furci; Laura Guzmán-Dávalos; Bryn T. M. Dentinger (2024). Phylogenomics of the psychoactive mushroom genus Psilocybe and evolution of the psilocybin biosynthetic gene cluster. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121(3), e2311245121. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311245121 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Bibliographic identity inspected; publication year is distinct from retrieval date.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Full-text gene-cluster results and phylogenomic methods inspected; not a new sequence analysis by Psilocybia.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      DOI and title matched against the cited bibliographic record; not just resolver availability.

  2. A.J. Bradshaw; C. Sharp; B. Van Der Merwe; K.S. Tremble; B.T.M. Dentinger (2026). Discovery of the closest free-living relative of the domesticated ‘magic mushroom’ Psilocybe cubensis in Africa. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 293(2066), 20252270. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.2270 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Bibliographic identity inspected; publication year is distinct from retrieval date.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      ABSTRACT ONLY: PubMed abstract and Europe PMC metadata inspected. Full text was inaccessible. No detailed morphology, divergence estimates or voucher reassignments extracted.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      DOI and title matched against the cited bibliographic record; not just resolver availability.

  3. GBIF Secretariat (2026). Psilocybe cubensis — GBIF Backbone Taxonomy record 5242510; accessed 29 September 2026. . Source record ↗

    Source class: taxonomic database.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Backbone name record retrieved and confirmed by two independent routes: the strict name-match endpoint returned usageKey 5242510 as an EXACT, ACCEPTED species match, and the record endpoint was then fetched directly and agreed on name, rank and acceptance. The record places Psilocybe in Hymenogastraceae; that placement is not adopted here.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Backbone name record retrieved and confirmed by two independent routes: the strict name-match endpoint returned usageKey 5242510 as an EXACT, ACCEPTED species match, and the record endpoint was then fetched directly and agreed on name, rank and acceptance. The record places Psilocybe in Hymenogastraceae; that placement is not adopted here.

  4. GBIF.org (2026). GBIF Occurrence Download: georeferenced records for Psilocybe taxa (download 0000371-260915150036944). . DOI: 10.15468/dl.dhgzxa Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Download record retrieved from the GBIF API. Key 0000371-260915150036944, DOI 10.15468/dl.dhgzxa, status SUCCEEDED, created 2026-09-15, 31,439 records drawn from 294 datasets, SIMPLE_CSV format, licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode. The DOI and the record count were confirmed against the archive held locally rather than assumed from the filename.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      DOI read from the download record returned by the GBIF API and matched to the download key of the archive used to generate the occurrence maps.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      The archive was read row by row to generate the published maps and the per-country counts. 31,208 rows carry usable coordinates and a taxonKey this reference maps to one of its own records; 231 rows fall under synonyms, infraspecific taxa or sequence clusters and are excluded rather than reassigned. Coordinate uncertainty is reported for about 90 per cent of rows, with a median near 7 km and a coarsest value above 5,000 km, so individual points vary enormously in precision. 25 per cent of the country entries derived from this download rest on a single record, and the majority of records are human observations rather than preserved specimens; counts are therefore published alongside every country.

  5. Klára Gotvaldová; Jan Borovička; Kateřina Hájková; Petra Cihlářová; Alan Rockefeller; Martin Kuchař (2022). Extensive Collection of Psychotropic Mushrooms with Determination of Their Tryptamine Alkaloids. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23(22), 14068. DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214068 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-08 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Authors, title, year, volume, issue and article number match the article XML.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-08 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      DOI in PubMed matches article-id in the primary article XML; this is an identity cross-check, not just syntax validation.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-08 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Read Table 1 and its footnote, and sections 3.1, 3.3 and 3.4 in the full-text XML. Supplementary Table S1 has not yet been extracted.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Rechecked Table 1, sections 3.2–3.4, and Supplementary Table S1 (13 collections in this batch). Corrected pilot locator: collection/storage is section 3.2, not 3.1. Original aggregate ranges verified against XML.

  6. iNaturalist (2026). Psilocybe cubensis — iNaturalist taxon 328244; accessed 29 September 2026. . Source record ↗

    Source class: taxonomic database.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Taxon record retrieved and confirmed by two independent routes: a name query returned exactly one active species taxon named Psilocybe cubensis with id 328244, and the record endpoint was then fetched directly and agreed on name, rank and active status. This is an identifier for a community observation platform, not a taxonomic authority.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-29 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Taxon record retrieved and confirmed by two independent routes: a name query returned exactly one active species taxon named Psilocybe cubensis with id 328244, and the record endpoint was then fetched directly and agreed on name, rank and active status. This is an identifier for a community observation platform, not a taxonomic authority.

  7. Index Fungorum (2026). Index Fungorum name record: Psilocybe cubensis. . Source record ↗

    Source class: taxonomic database.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Bibliographic identity inspected; publication year is distinct from retrieval date.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Named record and cited fields inspected directly.

  8. R.F.R. Melo; R.S. Chikowski; A.N. Miller; L.C. Maia (2016). Coprophilous Agaricales (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) from Brazil. Phytotaxa 266(1), 1–14. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.266.1.1 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Authors, title, year, volume, issue and DOI agree between the PDF and Crossref. Page range is checked in the PDF; Crossref does not supply a page field.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Title page DOI and authors inspected. P. cubensis appears in the compiled key, pp. 3–4, not as one of the newly described collections. Morphological statements are limited to that key.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Authors, title, year, volume, issue and DOI agree between the PDF and Crossref. Page range is checked in the PDF; Crossref does not supply a page field.

  9. T. Niskanen; B. Dentinger; A.M. Ainsworth; I. Kytövuori; J.T. Kim; G.W. Griffith; K. Liimatainen (2026). Re-shaping the family-level classification of Agaricineae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) using a phylogenomic approach. Studies in Mycology 113(1), 115–134. DOI: 10.3114/sim.2026.113.03 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Bibliographic identity inspected; publication year is distinct from retrieval date.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Family treatment Agrocybaceae, Table 1 and classification discussion inspected in the PDF. Effective online date in paper: 1 April 2026; Crossref issue date differs, so the record retains year only.

    • doi: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      DOI and title matched against the cited bibliographic record; not just resolver availability.

  10. Species Fungorum (2026). Species Fungorum synonymy: Psilocybe cubensis. . Source record ↗

    Source class: taxonomic database.

    Source verification history
    • metadata: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Bibliographic identity inspected; publication year is distinct from retrieval date.

    • content: verified · 2026-09-10 · Psilocybia editorial. Verification source

      Selected historical combinations retained; this is not an exhaustive synonymy reconciliation. Index Fungorum and Species Fungorum are linked services, not independent revisions.

Claim provenance

Source checks record what was inspected. Publication approval and section review are separate editorial decisions.

Nomenclature follows the checked Index Fungorum name record.

Fields: taxonomy.canonical_name, taxonomy.accepted_name, taxonomy.genus, taxonomy.specific_epithet, taxonomy.authority, taxonomy.publication_year, taxonomy.status, taxonomy.basionym, taxonomy.index_fungorum_id

This account follows the 2026 Agrocybaceae circumscription for Psilocybe.

Fields: taxonomy.family

Selected names listed in Species Fungorum; the list is not exhaustive.

Fields: taxonomy.synonyms

One quantitative study is extracted here. The category describes this account’s coverage; a complete literature assessment is pending.

Fields: chemistry.summary.text

Gotvaldová et al. (2022) used UHPLC–MS/MS to measure five tryptamine alkaloids in 9 fruiting bodies from 4 collections.

Fields: chemistry.modern_assay.text

The assay preserves the published ranges and supplementary collection context.

Fields: chemistry.assays.0, chemistry.evidence_status

This account combines checked nomenclature, a published morphological key and one assay of cultivated material. A 2026 study distinguishes the African relative P. ochraceocentrata; older records require attention to species boundaries.

Fields: overview.text

The Brazilian published key places P. cubensis among taxa with a partial veil and fruit bodies that turn blue. These key characters are not a full specimen description.

Fields: description.macroscopic.text

The same key characterizes P. cubensis with pleurocystidia and hexagonal basidiospores measuring 13–16 × 7–10 µm. This is a key-derived summary; further specimen-based comparison is pending.

Fields: description.microscopic.text

The 2026 study’s abstract describes P. cubensis as specialized on domesticated cattle dung. The chemistry study extracted here instead sampled cultivated material; it does not establish wild habitat.

Fields: ecology.narrative.text

The 2026 paper notes the original Cuban description and distinguishes African material formerly identified as P. cubensis as P. ochraceocentrata. A reconciled global distribution has not been compiled for this account.

Fields: distribution.narrative.text

Bradshaw et al. (2024) report the PsiD–PsiM–PsiH–PsiK biosynthetic gene order previously documented for P. cubensis within their Clade II comparison. Genomic evidence is distinct from chemical measurement of fruiting bodies.

Fields: molecular.text

The checked name record traces the species to Stropharia cubensis Earle (1906) and Singer’s 1948 combination in Psilocybe. The original publications have not yet been inspected.

Fields: history.text

3,319 georeferenced records for this name in the cited GBIF download, plotted as 2,030 distinct positions and spanning 58 country codes, of which 16 rest on a single record. These are record locations, not a compiled range: no range has been researched for this account.

Fields: distribution.occurrence

Database identifiers for this species, recorded so a reader can retrieve the same records. The GBIF backbone still places Psilocybe in Hymenogastraceae, whereas this site follows the 2026 family revision and treats the genus in Agrocybaceae; citing the identifier is not an endorsement of that placement.

Fields: distribution.gbif_taxon_id, distribution.inaturalist_taxon_id