An independent scientific referenceTaxonomy · Evidence · Context
PSILOCYBIAA monograph for the digital age.
Research edition Accounts distinguish source checks from human review. Research coverage is incomplete. Read our standards

Psilocybia / The Index / Species record

The Psilocybe Index / Species account

Psilocybe cyanescens

Wakef.

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. One licensed photograph added after image-source review on 14 September 2026; identification follows the credited source and is not an independent specimen determination.

01Overview

Source-checked

This account links the name to its published epitype and molecular markers, and records one quantitative chemistry study. The family treatment follows Agrocybaceae. [index-fungorum-290108-2026] [borovicka-2012] [niskanen-2026] [gotvaldova-2022]

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

Figure 01Field photograph
Brown-capped fruit bodies among moss and grasses, with several arranged to show their gills.

Psilocybe cyanescens

2012-12-05

Source identification: Psilocybe cyanescens. Mushroom Observer photograph 290259.

Photograph: Alan Rockefeller · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0

Resized and re-encoded; full composition retained.

02Nomenclature

Accepted name
Psilocybe cyanescens
Authority
Wakef.
Family
Agrocybaceae
Publication year
1946
Basionym
Not yet researched — verification required
Taxonomic status
accepted
MycoBank identifier
Not yet researched — verification required
Index Fungorum identifier
290108
Synonyms (0 recorded names)

No verified synonyms entered. This does not indicate that synonyms do not exist.

Nomenclatural sources: [index-fungorum-290108-2026] [niskanen-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

Borovička and colleagues discuss a wavy cap at maturity in P. cyanescens when comparing it with P. allenii. A full morphological redescription remains pending. [borovicka-2012]

Microscopic characters

Source-checked

Guzmán and Bas report subfusiform to sublageniform cheilocystidia with necks no longer than 6 µm. Their illustrated P. cyanescens material is Tjallingii, 4 November 1975 (L). [guzman-bas-1977]

04Distribution and ecology

Source-checked

The typification paper documents material from England and Germany; the assay supplement lists four Czech collections. These are source-backed localities, not a comprehensive distribution. [borovicka-2012] [gotvaldova-2022]

Known range
Native to the Pacific coast of North America and introduced to Europe, where it is widespread but rare in the west
Countries with documented material
United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, United States, Canada
Habitats
Botanic gardens, parks and cemeteries (introduced European range), Wood chips and woody debris
Substrates
Wood chips, Woody debris
Ecological associations
Not yet researched
Seasonality
September to November in central Europe, with a fruiting maximum in October.

Ecological context

Source-checked

The designated epitype was collected on mulch in Hamburg’s Klein Flottbeck Botanical Garden. This is a documented substrate for that collection. [borovicka-2012]

Occurrence records

3,589 georeferenced records, shown as 1,552 distinct positions at this scale. Records carry 25 country codes, 5 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 3,294 of 3,589 plotted records. Median 27 km; 51 records at 30 m or finer; coarsest 956 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 (2,375) · GB (495) · AT (154) · CA (150) · DE (128) · CH (69) · NL (57) · BE (44) · PT (27) · NZ (21) · ZA (18) · DK (13) · ES (6) · FR (6) · IM (6) · IT (4) · PL (4) · JE (3) · BT (2) · CZ (2) · AU (1) · IE (1) · LI (1) · LU (1) · SI (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-cyanescens-table-1 — specimen, methods & measurements
Source location
Table 1, Psilocybe cyanescens 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
13
Sample counting basis
13 fruiting bodies (fb), from 4 collections (n); Table 1 definitions.
Provenance
Czech Republic; collection-level context 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
2.34–13.808 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
psilocin
0.409–10.018 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
baeocystin
0.216–2.852 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
norbaeocystin
0.102–0.978 mg/g (range) — Reported aggregate range, dry mass.
aeruginascin
0.011–0.039 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.

PS-10 · Czech Republic
Collected
08.11.2015
Analysed
May 2016
Voucher
(PRM 923257)
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1. Voucher parentheses retained exactly as printed.

L-08 · Czech Republic
Collected
31.10.2015
Analysed
May 2016
Voucher
PRM 952709
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

H-01 · Czech Republic
Collected
21.10.2016
Analysed
Sep. 2017
Voucher
PRM 952704
GenBank accession
Not provided in the source table

GenBank column is n.a. in Table S1.

H-02 · Czech Republic
Collected
26.10.2016
Analysed
Sep. 2017
Voucher
PRM 952704
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 13 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

The epitype PRM 901481 is linked to ITS rDNA, LSU and EF-1α data; the paper lists GenBank accessions GU565175, GU565167 and GU565158. Sequence files have not been reanalysed for this account. [borovicka-2012]

07History

Source-checked

Wakefield’s name was published in 1946. The 2012 treatment identifies holotype K(M) 63976, collected at Kew in 1911, and designates the Hamburg collection PRM 901481 as epitype. [index-fungorum-290108-2026] [borovicka-2012]

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

The opening photograph is Figure 01. Its caption records the source identification and attribution; it is not a type specimen unless explicitly stated.

Photographs are not presented as sufficient for mushroom identification.

10References

  1. Jan Borovička (2008). The wood-rotting bluing Psilocybe species in Central Europe — an identification key. Czech Mycology 60(2), 173–192. DOI: 10.33585/cmy.60202 Source record ↗

    Source class: primary.

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

      PDF, publisher page and Crossref agree on title, author, volume and pages. Citation follows the printed 2008 volume year. Publisher page reports actual release 27 February 2009; Crossref gives 27 February 2008. This discrepancy is retained, not resolved by assumption.

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

      Full PDF inspected, especially key pp. 176–177 and treatments pp. 180, 183. Morphological observations are not a current field-identification guide. Species concepts predate the 2011 molecular revision.

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

      DOI, title, authors and journal matched to Crossref metadata and the publication.

  2. J. Borovička; A. Rockefeller; P.G. Werner (2012). Psilocybe allenii – a new bluing species from the Pacific Coast, USA. Czech Mycology 64(2), 181–195. DOI: 10.33585/cmy.64207 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

      P. cyanescens comparisons and epitype treatment on p. 193. The description of P. allenii is not reused as a P. cyanescens description.

    • 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 cyanescens — GBIF Backbone Taxonomy record 5242465; 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 5242465 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 5242465 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. G. Guzmán; C. Bas (1977). A new bluing species of Psilocybe from Europe. Persoonia 9(2), 233–238. 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

      Comparative observations for P. semilanceata and P. cyanescens on pp. 235, 237–238; other species descriptions are not transposed.

  7. iNaturalist (2026). Psilocybe cyanescens — iNaturalist taxon 179085; 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 cyanescens with id 179085, 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 cyanescens with id 179085, 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.

  8. Index Fungorum (2026). Index Fungorum name record: Psilocybe cyanescens. . 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.

  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.

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.index_fungorum_id

This account follows the 2026 Agrocybaceae circumscription for Psilocybe.

Fields: taxonomy.family

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 13 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 links the name to its published epitype and molecular markers, and records one quantitative chemistry study. The family treatment follows Agrocybaceae.

Fields: overview.text

Borovička and colleagues discuss a wavy cap at maturity in P. cyanescens when comparing it with P. allenii. A full morphological redescription remains pending.

Fields: description.macroscopic.text

Guzmán and Bas report subfusiform to sublageniform cheilocystidia with necks no longer than 6 µm. Their illustrated P. cyanescens material is Tjallingii, 4 November 1975 (L).

Fields: description.microscopic.text

The designated epitype was collected on mulch in Hamburg’s Klein Flottbeck Botanical Garden. This is a documented substrate for that collection.

Fields: ecology.narrative.text

The typification paper documents material from England and Germany; the assay supplement lists four Czech collections. These are source-backed localities, not a comprehensive distribution.

Fields: distribution.narrative.text

The epitype PRM 901481 is linked to ITS rDNA, LSU and EF-1α data; the paper lists GenBank accessions GU565175, GU565167 and GU565158. Sequence files have not been reanalysed for this account.

Fields: molecular.text

Wakefield’s name was published in 1946. The 2012 treatment identifies holotype K(M) 63976, collected at Kew in 1911, and designates the Hamburg collection PRM 901481 as epitype.

Fields: history.text

3,589 georeferenced records for this name in the cited GBIF download, plotted as 1,552 distinct positions and spanning 25 country codes, of which 5 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

Season and the synanthropic European habitat are from the 2008 revision; the wood-chip substrate is from the 2012 paper, which records the species sharing wood-chip habitats with P. allenii.

Fields: ecology.habitats, ecology.substrates, ecology.seasonality

The 2008 revision treats it as an American species introduced to Europe, and lists the countries whose collections the author studied. Denmark is reported there on another author authority and is not included. The introduction hypothesis is attributed in that paper to Borovicka (2005) and is not independently assessed here.

Fields: distribution.regions, distribution.countries