HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/chibacity/faq-mush.txt

Text File | 1996-04-23 | 136.2 KB | 2,424 lines

Subject: Psilocybe Mushroom FAQ v1.2 [New!]
Newsgroups: alt.drugs.psychedelics,alt.drugs
From: [e-mail] (Gnosis)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 95 20:32:24 EET

                        THE PSILOCYBE MUSHROOM FAQ
                                VERSION 1.2
                         Last update: 04 Jul 1995

             By [e-mail]     (most of the writing)
              & [e-mail]   (layout, additions)

      Thanks to [e-mail]    (for shroom descriptions)
              & Tatu                        (for shroom descriptions)
              & [e-mail]     (for the Tryptamine FAQ)
              & [e-mail] (for alkaloid content figures)
              & [e-mail]        (for neuropharmacology)
              & all the other net-people who added or corrected info
              & especially our fellow innerspace astronauts

.oOo. Notes .oOo.

This FAQ is far from complete, and we ask those with information to add or
fix to contact us.  All comments and thoughts welcome.

Schizophrenic alternation between "I" and "we" is due to the file being
written by two people, not permanent brain damage from mushrooms.  =)

This file is purposely not in the usual question-answer, clearly-divided
subsections, everything-referenced, no-cute-ASCII-pics format usually
used for FAQs.  Instead, it's more relaxed and loose, which in our
opinion makes for a much better read.  Enjoy!

.oOo. Index .oOo.

Disclaimer * Updates * Foreword * Viewpoint * History * Etymology *
Chemistry * Psychology * Legality * Botany * Mushroom Guide *
Growing Mushrooms * Picking Mushrooms * Drying Mushrooms * On the Dosage *
Consumption * Preparation for the Voyage * Music and the Voyage *
During the Voyage * Warning * Miscellaneous Questions * Further Reading *
References * Endnotes

.oOo. Disclaimer .oOo.

For info only.  I hope someday humanity reaches the point where there are no
restrictions, laws or censorship.  Just read the foreword and get an
attitude & altitude.

.oOo. Updates .oOo.

* What's new since version 1.1:

= In "Chemistry":
  - Reorganized and cleaned up
  - Added molecular weight/potency calculation
  - Added molecular formulae
  - Added DEA drug control numbers
  - Minor fix to psilocybin structure [(+) in the wrong place]
  - Comment about serotonin inhibition cleaned up [thanks Lamont!]
= In "Legality":
  - Sorted everything into a big nifty ASCII table
  - Added information about Canada and the Netherlands
= In "Mushroom Guide":
  - Format of entries *greatly* improved
  - New full-scale entries by Professor Peabody (Baabo) added:
    o Panaeolina foenisecii
    o Panaeolus acuminatus, ater, campanulatus, sphinctrinus
    o Psilocybe montana
  - New full-scale entries from Mycologia/Lloydia/Norw J Botany:
    o Conocybe cyanopus, smithii
    o Psilocybe aztecorum, mexicana, stuntzii, subaeruginascens, zapotecorum
  - Serious revision of the following entries:
    o Psilocybe baeocystis, caerulescens, cyanescens
    o Stropharia cubensis
  - Serious revision of a number of entries, esp. Panaeolus spp., by Tatu
  - Quite a bit of information added here and there, too many minor
    updates for full listing
= In "Picking Mushrooms":
  - Section from "Field Guide to North American Mushrooms" on identification
    added
= Some updates and tips added to "Consumption"
= In "During the Voyage":
  - Notes on 'emotional rollercoaster' following the trip
= Added section "Mushroom Resources"
  - Visionary Mushrooms mailing list added
  - hyperreal.com and hemp.uwec.edu added
  - BJ, Conscious Dreams, Fungi Perfecti, HEMP BC and Teonanßcatl added to
    list of companies
= Added section "Music and the Voyage"
= Added (big!) section "References"
= Minor (mostly cosmetic) updates here, there and everywhere.

.oOo. Foreword .oOo.

FOREWORD:                       THINK!


><><>>><><>><><<<><><<<>>><PSYHC.EDEL.AI<><<>><<>>><<<>><<<><<>>><<<>
                                What is it?
    viewpoint
                          the Ps(i)kedelia^^enTHEOgens(genia)

vokal.BO.lary/nx |BODY|

      [greek]-PSYCHE-DELEIN *humphry OSMOND 1956
              (soul) (show) in his letter to Aldous Huxley
                             "To fathom hell or soar angelic,
                              Just take a pinch of psychedelic."
                                   ion
  ____IN  tokzikat(-/+)  EBRIATION .......  psychotomimetik
                                      ...    psycholytik
      -__--IN- . peak experience alteredstate  EN THE O GEN
                                                    "gOd within"
                                        ekstasis  (theos)
         pharma                                  "be_koming"
         psyk                                     (gen)
         physi                                   => {god is love}
         biol
         soci                   theworld  /\/\/  conciousness
 OLOKI[greekLOGOS:knowledge]

                       physio.GNOMY of (SIKe:DELIA)

  crispvague         im/possibility   spaceufouniverse   2.birth
  Iindividualme      eyeopening       visionsinsights    otherworldly
  heaven&hell        planetmotherearth            beyondwords

       DRUGS?ENTHEOGENS?PSIKEDELIX?SUBSTANCES?

 LSD  Psilocin  harmaline what
 MDMA  Mescaline  ibogaine ever
 CANNABIS  Psilocybin  DMT ...

      [e-mail]

     "...a psychedelic drug is one which, without causing physical
     addiction, craving, major physiological disturbances,
     delirium, disorientation, or amnesia, more or less reliably
     produces thought, mood, and perceptual changes otherwise
     rarely experienced exept in dreams, contemplarive and religious
     exaltation, flashes of vivid involuntary memory, and acute
     psychoses."
                                 PsychedelicDrugsReconsidered
                                 Lester Grinspoon
                                 James B Bakalar

 ? n   o[t]i   t   a   n   n   i   c . u   l   l   a . h !
 .   h  a   l  l   u  c   i  n   a  t   i  o   n  .

        sPIRITUAL                     Philo.sophic
         rETINA                              apertures
   "...ie. the product of             "the phleghms of thought
   perceptual processes."                          IN THE BRAIN

. colors magnified                    feelings of strange feelings
.                                     strange feelings
. wavy motion of objects              strange thoughts
:                                     visions/insights
: 2-D visuals
: objects differ                      absence of normal thought
; color/switches
; 3-D objects mutate
| Perceptions not connected           absence of reality
| to the ,real, world
*invisiblelandscapetheothersidedirectaxessunconsciousgodspacelifedeathuf

[Gnosis says: If that fails to make sense, read it again until it does...
 which may take a while.]

.oOo. History .oOo.

   Hallucinogenic mushrooms have probably been in existence exactly
as long as humanity. Ancient pictures of mushroom-headed humanoids have
been found in caves in the Sahara. Siberian shamans use[d] fly agarics to
enlighten the path to the spiritworld. In Central and Southern America
use of psilocybian mushrooms (and other hallucinogens) was common until
the arrival of Spaniards who spread the Catholic faith with sword and
fire and forbade the use.

Spanish priest Bernardino de Sahagun (ca. 1500 AD) on the use of
hallucinogenic mushrooms by the Aztecs:

   "The first thing to be eaten at the feast were small black
    mushrooms that they called nanacatl and bring on drunkenness,
    hallucinations and even lechery; they ate these before the
    dawn...with honey; and when they began to feel the effects,
    they began to dance, some sang and others wept...
    ... When the drunkenness of the mushrooms had passed, they
    spoke with one another of the visions they had seen."

On use of alcohol:

   "If a youth appeared intoxicated in public... he was punished
    by being beaten to death with stick or garrotte before all
    other youths assembled there...to serve as an example."

Only old people were allowed to drink the alcoholic beverage pulque.  Sahagun
has an error in his writings, the mushrooms were not ingested with food:

   "It is an ancient custom for people to eat mushrooms and these
    they ate in a trice, as is said. They had had no food exept
    some cacao drunk the night before. They ate these mushrooms
    with honey."

   The Aztecs (1400-1521) took other hallucinogenic drugs such as tlapatl,
mixitl grain and peyotl or peyote, use of which originated from the north
of Mexico, where it had been in use since 300 B.C.  "Mushroom stones" in
which figures under the cap of a mushroom are depicted have been found even
from an earlier era (1000-500 B.C.)  The purpose of these sculptures is not
certain, but these stones may have been religious objects.

   The Codex Vienna Mixtec manuscript (ca 13th-15th century) depicts the
ritual use of the teonanßcatl by the Mixtec gods.  The god known as 7 Flower
(his name presented in the pictoral language as seven circles and a flower)
was the Mixtec god for hallucinatory plants, especially the divine mushroom,
and is depicted with a pair of mushrooms in his hand.

   The Aztec also had their god for the entheogens, Xochipilli, Prince of
Flowers.  He was the divine patron of "the flowery dream" as the Aztecs
called the ritual hallucinatory trance.

   Mushrooms ingested by the indians were supposedly Psilocybe
mexicana or caerulescens and Panaolus sphinctrinus.  Stropharia
cubensis, which is currently quite popular as it is easy to locate and
cultivate, was not introduced to America until the arrival of the
Europeans and their cattle. Today indians regard Stropharia cubensis
inferior to Ps. mexicana for it grows in dung.

   In the beginning of twentieth century interest in psychoactive mushrooms
stirred.  The teonanßcatl was first identified as Lophophora williamsii
or peyote, and it was thought that Sahagun had mistaken the cactus for
mushrooms.  Finally ethnobotanist Richard Evan Schultes and physician
Plasius Paul Reko traveled for the mushrooms to Oaxaca, and collected
specimens of Panaeolus sphinctrinus. They found out that mushroom
ceremonies - veladas - were still being held in the area.

   A decade after World War II, after long search the mycophile-family
of R. Gordon Wasson came to little Village of Huatla de Jimenez, and
Wasson and his friend Allan Richardson attended a velada held by
curandera Maria Sabina.

   Information about the mushrooms soon spread.  Psilocybin and psilocin
were found and their analogues were synthesized.  Experimentation with the
mushrooms and the synthesized substances began and magic mushrooms were
soon part of the 60's 'psychedelic' movement, ie. every second middle class
kid was opening the doors of perception and [ab]using hallucinogenic drugs.

.oOo. Etymology .oOo.
     _     _     _
   / et'e-mol'e-je / 1. the origin and history of words

   The name of the genus "Psilocybe" comes from the Greek words "psilos"
(bare) and "kube" (head), warped into New Latin to form "psilocybe".
Literally translated, this means "bald head", which I suppose comes from
their appearance.  A rather inaccurate comparison if you ask me, most
bald people don't have big pointy nipples on top of cone-shaped heads,
even if they're from Remulok, but I digress...

   The best known hallucinogens in Psilocybe mushrooms are the chemicals
psilocybin and psilocin, which are discussed at length in the next part.
There remains a minor controversy about the spelling of their names.
Psilocybin and psilocin are both alkaloids (nitrogen-containing substances
found in nature), and an effort in the 70's aimed to convert all alkaloid
names so that they end in -ine, like cocaine, caffeine, morphine, etc.
The names should thus be "psilocybine" and "psilocine"; yet "psilocybine"
is used very rarely even in modern authoritative works, and I have seen
"psilocine" in print exactly once.  If anybody has some idea about the
current situation and the Korrekt(tm) spelling, please inform me.

.oOo. Chemistry .oOo.

   The primary active ingredients of Psilocybe mushrooms are (surprise!)
psilocybin and psilocin, and to a lesser extent baeocystin and norbaeocystin.
The ratio of psilocybin to psilocin varies from species to species.  The
primary difference is that psilocin is unstable and it breaks down when
the mushroom is dried, while psilocybin lasts much longer (a 115-year
old mushroom sample was found to contain some).  The two are equally
psychoactive, since one molecule of psilocybin breaks down into one
molecule of psilocin.  But in terms of weight, we find that:

              molecular weight of psilocybin   284.3
              ------------------------------ = ----- = 1.391
              molecular weight of psilocin     204.3

   So _by weight_ psilocin is around 1.4 times more potent.  The formula
for calculating total potency, ignoring [nor]baeocystin, is thus:

(psilocybin) + (1.4 * psilocin) = total potency in 'psilocybin units'

   Now, here's the structural diagram for psilocybin:

               N
              / \                      PSILOCYBIN
             /   \
      ______/     \                    C  H  N O P
     / /  \ \     ||                    12 17 2 4
    / /    \ \    ||
   / /      \ \   ||                   4-OPO -DMT
   \/        \/___||       C       C        4
    \________/      \     / \     /
     \______/        \   /   \   /     4-Phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine
            \         \ /     \ /
             \         C       N       1H-Indol-4-ol, 3-[2-(dimethylamino)-
              \      (+)       |       ethyl] dihydrogen phosphate ester
               O               |
               |               C       CAS #: 520-52-5
           ____|    (-)
          O____P____O                  DEA #: 7437
               |
               |
               O

   In the body, the phosphorus part is chopped off ("dephosphorylated")
by the enzyme alkaline phosphatase, turning it into our other friend:

               N                       PSILOCIN
              / \
             /   \                     C  H  N O
      ______/     \                     12 16 2
     / /  \ \     ||
    / /    \ \    ||                   4-OH-DMT
   / /      \ \   ||
   \/        \/___||       C       C   4-Hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine
    \________/      \     / \     /
     \______/        \   /   \   /     1H-Indol-4-ol, 3-[2-(dimethylamino)
            \         \ /     \ /      ethyl]
             \         C       N
              \                |       CAS #: 520-53-6
               O               |
                               C       DEA #: 7438

   Psilocybin and psilocin are part of the tryptamine family (indole C8H7N &
ethylamine side chain).  They bear close resemblance to the neurotransmitter
serotonin.  How these substances work is, I have come to believe, still quite
obscure.  Primary effect seems to be the inhibition of neurotransmitter
serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine aka 5-HT), ie. a 5-HT2A post-synaptic agonist
that mimics the effects to 5-HT to put it in jargon.  This is the working
hypothesis for LSD-25 at the moment and it's probably true for psilocybin
as well.  These substances also present some cross-tolerance.

As a good psychedelic should, psilocybin, psilocin and psilocybian mushrooms
have low toxicity - in tests with mice, doses up to 200 mg of psilocybin/kg
of body (in average human terms (65 kg) 13 grams) have been injected
intravenously without lethal effects.  The ED50:LD50 ratio is 641 according
to the NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects; compare this with 9637 for vitamin A,
4816 for LSD, 199 for aspirin and 21 for nicotine.  Poisoning, at least
physically, is thus not a problem.

   Then we have the two other significant indole alkaloids:

               N
              / \                      BAEOCYSTIN
             /   \
      ______/     \                    C  H  N O P
     / /  \ \     ||                    11 15 2 4
    / /    \ \    ||
   / /      \ \   ||                   4-OPO -MT
   \/        \/___||       C                4
    \________/      \     / \
     \______/        \   /   \         4-Phosphoryloxy-N-methyltryptamine
            \         \ /     \
             \         C       N       1H-Indol-4-ol, 3-[2-(methylamino)-
              \      (+)       |       ethyl] dihydrogen phosphate ester
               O               |
               |               C       CAS #: 21420-58-6
           ____|    (-)
          O____P____O                  DEA #: None
               |
               |                       The monomethyl analogue of psilocybin
               O

   Unlike psilocybin, baeocystin is somewhat unstable, and decays noticeably
with age.  And then we have baeocystin's close chemical cousin:

               N
              / \                      NORBAEOCYSTIN
             /   \
      ______/     \                    C  H  N O P
     / /  \ \     ||                    10 13 2 4
    / /    \ \    ||
   / /      \ \   ||                   4-OPO -T
   \/        \/___||       C             4
    \________/      \     / \
     \______/        \   /   \         4-Phosphoryloxytryptamine
            \         \ /     \
             \         C       N       1H-Indol-4-ol, 3-[2-aminoethyl]
              \      (+)               dihydrogen phosphate ester
               O
               |                       CAS #: 21420-59-7
           ____|    (-)
          O____P____O                  DEA #: None
               |
               |                       The demethyl analogue of psilocybin
               O

   In other words, baeocystin and norbaeocystin are just psilocybin
with one methyl and two methyls respectively lopped off.  And unfortunately
for all you synthesis experts, while baeocystin and norbaeocystin do not
have DEA control numbers they do both come under the Controlled Substance
Analogue Act.

   When dephosphorylated, they turn into 4-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine and
4-hydroxytryptamine.  All 4 substances are presumed hallucinogenic, but
less so than psilocin or psilocybin.  Very little work seems to have been
done on them (Chemical Abstracts averages a cite a year, with most of them
of the variety "baeocystin found in Psilocybe totallyobscuralis").  There
has been some speculation on the 'net about them, and a possible correlation
between nausea and the amount of baeocystin has been found.  We hope to be
able to investigate the question further for the next version.

   These are just the four "biggies".  A whole truckload of other indoles
are known to exist in Psilocybe mushrooms.  Here's a sample of what
was found in a batch of Psilocybe baeocystis, excluding the ones mentioned
above:

Indole derivative                                        Amount (microg.)

5-Benzyloxy-3-indole acetic acid                           2
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine hydrogen-oxalate [aka DMT]          4
Gramine                                                   40
3-Hydroxyethyl indole                                      2
5-Hydroxy-3-indole acetic acid                             2
5-Hydroxyindole                                            4
3-Hydroxymethylindole                                      2
5-Hydroxytryptamine creatine sulfate [aka Serotonin]       4
5-Hydroxytryptophane                                       2
Indole                                                     4
3-Indoleacetamide                                          2
3-Indole acetic acid                                       2
3-Indoleacetic acid ethyl ester                            2
3-Indoleacetonitrile                                       2
3-Indolealdehyde                                          40
3-Indoleacetaldehyde                                       2
3-Indolecarboxylic acid                                    4
3-Indolelactic acid                                        2
gamma-(Indole)-N-butyric acid                              4
beta-Indole-3-acrylic acid                                 2
beta-(Indole-3)-propionic acid                             4
Indoxylacetate                                             2
Indoxylbutyrate                                            2
Isatin                                                     2
5-Methoxy-2-carboxyindole                                  2
5-Methoxydimethyltryptamine monooxalate [aka Bufotenine]   4
5-Methoxyindole                                            4
2-Methylindole                                             2
3-Methylindole                                             4
5-Methylindole                                             4
5-Methyltryptophane                                        2
N-Methyltryptophane                                        2
Tryptamine hydrochloride                                   4
L-Tryptophane                                              0.8

[From A.Y. Leung, A.H. Smith, A.G. Paul, "Production of Psilocybin in
 Psilocybe baeocystis Saprophytic Culture".  J Pharm Sci 54: 1576 (1965).]

   Yes, Psilocybe mushrooms contain DMT, but in microscopic amounts.
DMT is not orally active anyway, so it doesn't do anything.

   The effects of psilocybin can be potentiated (made stronger) by taking
them with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI).  The potency is roughly
doubled, according to most reports.  The best known MAOIs are harmine and
harmaline from the plant Peganum harmala (Syrian rue).  Combining MAOIs and
tryptamines is an unsafe activity; not only are there are number of
substances you must avoid during use to prevent a serious hypertensive
crisis, but the long-term health effects are unknown.  If you wish to know
more, consult the Tryptamine FAQ.  Personally, I doubt it's worth the
risk, if you pick or grow shrooms it's easy to get enough shrooms
for a double dose.

.oOo Psychology .oOo.

                     "Nature's Perfect Entheogen(TM)"

   Psilocybin is juuust fine. I've tried several psychoactive drugs,
including hash, LSD-25 and psilocybin.  Hash usually doesn't do much -
sends me into a half sleep with silly thoughts and spacey soundscape
added to music... LSD doesn't do it to me either.  It's probably OK if you
are after low dose recreation - partying and such... High doses - too
blunt, like a mental power tool.  It cracks up open your head;  Starring
You and Your Brain for 12 hours.  Every perception magnified thousandfold
 - it's.. it's a bit too intense. __!INTENSE!__ is the keyword.
It doesn't accept any apologies or mistakes.. too harsh.  I often felt
like I had been immersed in some chemical, into a substance so pure and
efficient it has no place in nature.  Too pure. 12 hours of LSD-25
acid-bath makes you really tired... physically and mentally. But
psilocybin, mm-mm, it's juuuuust fiiiine.

   Voyage to the spiritworld... visions and travels, awesome mental
hallucinations.  It's a direct ISDN-link to the mother earth, forgiving,
gentle substance.  You hear the chanting of the planet and the spirit of
the mushroom.  It's a product of the nature, untied to the actions of men
and women roaming this planet.  Your body disconnected from the circuit,
you may often forget it exists.  Six hours - not too short, not too long.
Perfect.

   It should be noted that like all 'major' hallucinogens, psilocybin
can precipitate psychotic episodes and uncover or aggravate previous
mental illness.  If you're stressed out or depressed, don't take mushrooms;
if you have schizophrenia or something, _DO NOT_ take mushrooms.

        ACID IS NOT FOR EVERY BRAIN .... ONLY THE HEALTHY, HAPPY,
        WHOLESOME, HANDSOME, HOPEFUL, HUMOROUS, HIGH-VELOCITY
        SHOULD SEEK THESE EXPERIENCES. THIS ELITISM IS TOTALLY SELF-
        DETERMINED. UNLESS YOU ARE SELF-CONFIDENT, SELF-DIRECTED,
        SELF-SELECTED, PLEASE ABSTAIN.
                                                -Timothy Leary, Ph.D.

   I think this applies to mushrooms as well.  Mushrooms and acid will
open your doors of perception, and once open you can never truly close
them again.  They are more than a purely recreational drug.

.oOo. Legality .oOo.

Here's a list of the places we know about.  Much of this is 'off the net'
and may thus be more or less flawed.  "Y" means it is legal, "N" means it
is illegal, "?" means their status is unclear.

                    +---------------------- Possession of fresh mushrooms
                    | +-------------------- Possession of dried mushrooms
                    | | +------------------ Possession of mushroom spores
                    | | | +---------------- Cultures at mycelium stage
                    | | | | +-------------- Cultures at mushroom stage
+-----------------+ | | | | | +---------------------------------------------+
| Location        | V V V V V | Notes                                       |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| Austria         | Y ? Y Y Y | Mushrooms are considered decorative plants  |
|                 |           | and unless attempts to extract psilocybin   |
|                 |           | are made they _should_ remain legal.        |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| Canada          | Y N Y Y Y | If Bill C-7 passes possession of fresh      |
|                 |           | mushrooms and cultures will become illegal. |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| Great Britain   | Y Y Y Y N | A legislative quirk allows the possession   |
|                 |           | of 'naturally dried' (sun-dried) shrooms.   |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| The Netherlands | Y N Y Y Y | Even the sale of fresh mushrooms is legal.  |
|                 |           | See "Growing Mushrooms" for addresses.      |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| US, California  | N N N N N | Spores and cultures are explicitly forbidden|
|                 |           | by CA Health & Safety Code Section 11391.   |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| US, Florida     | Y N Y Y N | Possession of fresh mushrooms if picked     |
|                 |           | 'accidentally' (low quantities) is allowed. |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| US, Oregon      | N N Y Y N | Even allowing mushrooms to grow on your     |
|                 |           | property is (theoretically) illegal.        |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| US, Federal     | N N Y Y N | State laws take precedence over Federal law |
|                 |           | in the U.S., so this may not apply.         |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| International   | Y N Y Y N | This is the United Nations standard and most|
|                 |           | nations follow it.                          |
+-----------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+

These laws are based on a balance between the UN Convention on Psychotropic
Substances, which makes psilocybin and psilocin illegal, and recognition
of the fact that the substances occur in nature.  For each category:

* Fresh shrooms: The basic idea is that since shrooms grow in nature, it'd
  be silly to arrest grannies who happen to have a few growing in their
  backyard, or who pick them by accident.  This hasn't stopped most of
  the US (except Florida) from banning them entirely.  Of course, if you
  are caught with 3000 Str. cubensis, you'll have a hard time claiming you
  picked them by "accident".

* Dry shrooms: Usually taken as proof of intent to consume, and thus
  illegal.  In Britain, "naturally dried" shrooms are legal, ie. if you
  leave them on a windowsill by 'accident' it's OK.

* Shroom spores: Spores contain no psilocybin or psilocin and thus are
  not covered by regulations - except in California.

* Cultures before shrooms appear: Same as above, usually.  Advanced
  mycelia do contain psilocybin and psilocin.  With the rice cake method
  you can grow until the mycelia are complete and then eat the cakes;
  this way you can trip without ever being in possession of shrooms.

* Cultures after shrooms appear: Clear intent to consume, and you'll
  probably get charged with possession with intent to sell as well.
  However!  In some more liberal countries, such as Finland, you _might_
  be able to argue that the mushrooms were grown for decorative (ha!)
  or research purposes.  Do not count on it.

Mushroom hunting is another issue.  On public property, hunting itself
is not illegal, but you're not likely to run into cows in national parks
either.  =)  Some countries like Finland have the legal concept of
"everyman's right" which allows, among other things, picking mushrooms on
private property, except on fields which once again makes things tricky.
But unless you live in a notorious shroom zone - some areas of Florida and
South Wales come to mind - the odds of getting hassled by farmers, much
less getting caught by the police, are practically zero.

If you are caught by the cops, expect to be charged with trespassing and
possession of controlled substances.  Unless large quantities are involved,
you will probably get by with probation and/or a fine.  If caught in
Florida, you can cite the state laws and have the possession charge
reduced or dropped entirely.

.oOo. Botany .oOo.

     .-'~~~-.
   .'o oOOOo`.        "I am ... a mushroom
  :~~~-.oOo   o`.      On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then."
   `. \ ~-.  oOOo.           - John Ford
     `.; / ~.  OO:
     .'  ;-- `.o.'
    ,' ; ~~--'~
    ;  ;               [ASCII stolen from Mescalito Ted]
_\\;_\\//_

Psilocybe mushrooms are:

== kingdom Protista, division Fungi, class Basidiomycetes, order Stropharia,
   families Bolbitiaceae, Coprinaceae, Cortinariaceae, Pluteaceae,
            and Strophariaceae
== basidiomycotina or -mycetes - Fungi that produce spores on stalks
   outside the terminal cells.
== agaricales - mushrooms with cap & gills;

Commonly used species:

== Panaeolus sphinctrinus, subbalteatus (benanosis)
== Psilocybe baeocystis, caerulescens, cyanescens, mexicana,
   pelliculosa, semilanceata, stuntzii
== Stropharia (Psilocybe) cubensis

Uncommonly used species [mostly stolen from the Tryptamine FAQ]:

== Agrocybe farinacea
== Boletus erythropus, manicus, migroviolaceus, niggerimus, kumaeus,
   reayi [all (@)]
== Conocybe cyanopus, kuehneriana (*), siligineoides (?), smithii
== Copelandia anomala, bispora, cambodginiensis, cyanescens,
   tropicalis
== Coprinus niveus, patouillardii, narcoticus
== Galerina steglichii
== Gymnopilus aeruginosus, liquiritiae, luteus, purpuratus, spectabilis,
   validipes, viridans
== Inocybe aeruginascens, coelestium, corydalna, haemacta, tricolor
== Lepiota peele
== Panaeolina foenisecii (%)
== Panaeolus acuminatus, antillarum, ater, cambodginiensis, campanulatus,
   chlorocystis, foenisecii, firmicola, olivaceus, papilionaceus, retirugis,
   separatus, tropicalis
== Pholiotina cyanapoda
== Pluteus atricapillus (%), nigroviridis, salicinus
== Psathyrella candolleana, gracilis, sepulchralis
== (Almost) all Psilocybe species

(*) Contains only psilocin.
(%) Contains only psilocybin.
(?) Contains unidentified tryptamines (probably psilocin/psilocybin).
(@) Contains unidentified hallucinogens (possibly psilocin/psilocybin).
    The Boletus genus is very large and very few of them are
    hallucinogenic; some are known to be poisonous.

Inclusion on this list does not mean the psilocin/psilocybin content is
sufficient for psychotropic activity in practical amounts, for example
one would need to eat around a thousand Pluteus atricapillus to get off.

The following hallucinogenic species contain not psilocin/psilocybin
but atropine, bufotenine, muscimol and similar nasties:

== Amanita citrine, formosa, mappa, muscaria (*), pantherina,
   porphyria, regalis, tomentella
== Pholiota squarrosa

(*) The famed "Fly Agaric" red toadstool with white warts.

Amanita species cause 95% of all deaths from mushroom poisoning.  The
ones above are (reasonably) safe, the danger lies in correct identification.
Death by Amanita poisoning is reportedly an excruciating way to die, since
they nuke your liver and the body's own wastes then kill you.  Worse yet,
the effects only start 3 days after ingestion, and by then it's too late.
I would seriously recommend against toying with these; most reports say
they're not even fun.  If you insist, consult other sources for more
information.

.oOo. Mushroom Guide .oOo.

.oO Warning

    "Expert shroomers really know their shit."
                                              [e-mail]

    A printout of this part of the text should provide an adequate
check-list for mushrooms in the field, but a good mushroom book with
color pictures of the mushrooms, preferably at all 4 stages of growth,
is INVALUABLE.  The set of GIFs at hemp.uwec.edu may be used as a
crude substitute, but a book is easier to carry around...  =)

    For exhaustingly exhaustive and thoroughly technical descriptions of
most Psilocybes, the reader is referred to Singer & Smith: Mycologia 58,
263-303 and H0iland: Norw J Botany 25(2), 111-122.  These two, along
with a dozen lesser references (all of them listed at the end), were
primary sources in compiling this.

    To check the spore color, take two caps, place one on a sheet of white
and one on a black paper, or on a glass plate if you plan to use
microscope. Place in a draftless place and wait for 6 to 24 hours. The
dust-like stuff on the sheet is the spores. Compare the two papers.
For size, you'll need a good microscope...  =)

    The standard identifying mark of most Psilocybes is that they stain
blue when touched or cut; unless specifically noted otherwise, assume
all mushrooms listed here do.  Mind you, this blueing alone is *not*
sufficient for identification as a non-poisonous and hallucinogenic mushroom!

    It is *STRONGLY* recommended that for the first few hunts you go out
with a friend who has hunted before and knows what they look like.  While
there are no poisonous mushrooms that look like the -common- Psilocybes,
there are a whole bunch that certainly will not get you off, and while not
lethal they might well be quite unpleasant.  So be careful!

.oO Dosage Note

    The medium adult oral dose, according to Hofmann, is 4-8 mg of
psilocybin.  Thus, you can estimate doses from the mg/g psilocybin figures
found in technical literature.  Data for "% dry weight" is the same as
centigrams per gram, so just multiply by 10 to get the mg/g figure.

    Whenever possible, dosages in both shrooms and grams of *FRESH* material
have been given.  As a rule of thumb, for dried shrooms multiply the
dosage in SHROOMS by two.  There is no reliable way of converting
weight in grams from fresh to dry, mushrooms contain -approximately-
90% water (ie. 10 grams wet = 1 gram dry) but the figure varies from
species to species.

    The amount of psilocybin varies very considerably from mushroom to
mushroom, depending on factors like age, growing conditions, etc.  The
variation is up to 4x for mushrooms grown in controlled laboratory
conditions, and as much as 10x for ones that are not!  With a new batch,
always start out low.

    When reading the data, remember that psilocybin is almost equal in
strength to psilocin.  On the other hand, baeocystin does not appear to
very hallucinogenic, but it is rumored to account for some of the side
effects.

.oO Shroom descriptions in alphabetical order:

It should be kept in mind that mushrooms change appearance as they
age and often have different coloration in different regions.

These descriptions, formatted nicely so that you can print them out
as a booklet and take it with you when cow-hunting, are now available
separately as the "Psilocybe FAQ Mushroom Field Guide".  Available
at all well-stocked FTP sites!  Or make your own: cut out this section,
search-and-replace "*" with "<CTRL-L>+", and print.  Substitute your
computer's form feed character or sequence for CTRL-L in need.

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| QUICK VOCABULARY                                                          |
+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| adnate         | Gills that are fully attached to the stem                |
| adnexed        | Gills that are partly attached to the stem               |
| apex           | Top part of stem (ie. where it's attached to the cap)    |
| concave        | Cap that curves 'inward' (like the inside of a sphere)   |
| convex         | Cap that curvews 'outward' (like the outside of a sphere)|
| evanescent     | Quickly disappearing veil                                |
| fibrillose     | Stem that seems to be made of fibers packed together     |
| fissure        | Crack or cleft in cap or gills                           |
| HD             | High dose                                                |
| hygrophilous   | Absorbs water easily                                     |
| hygrophanous   | Becomes translucent when wet                             |
| LD             | Low dose                                                 |
| MD             | Medium dose                                              |
| mg/g           | Milligrams of substance per gram of *dried* mushroom     |
| N/A            | Not applicable or not available                          |
| seceding       | Gills that are detaching/detached from the stem          |
| umbonate       | Cap that is shaped like a knob                           |
| viscid         | Cap covered with sticky coating                          |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| And remember, if you think learning these is too hard, try reading Singer |
| & Smith.  "Stipe tubular, more rarely subequal, discolors to reddish      |
| cinerous, strongly sulcate at apex, glabrous to fibrillose..."            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONOCYBE CYANOPODA => See CONOCYBE CYANOPUS                               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONOCYBE CYANOPUS (aka Conocybe cyanopoda, Galerula cyanopus)             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A small and uncommon but relatively strong mushroom, often found on lawns.|
| Found in the northern parts of the U.S., Canada and northern Europe.      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 0.7-2.5 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | rusty/dark brown to black                        |
|      | appearance      | convex, nearly hemispherical, slightly expanding |
|      |                 | slightly wrinkled at edges                       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-1.5 millimeters                                |
|      | length          | 2-4 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | white or slightly grayish                        |
|      | appearance      | silky, striated                                  |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | not crowded                                      |
|      | color           | dull rust brown, white edges                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | dull rust brown                                  |
|      | size            | 6.5-7.5 x 4.5-5 x 4.5-5 micrometers              |
|      | shape           | ellipsoid, distinct germ-pore                    |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 9.30-4.50                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.70-0.00                                        |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.30-1.00                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONOCYBE SMITHII (aka Galera cyanopes)                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This tiny mushroom is scattered among mosses in swamps, boggy areas and   |
| ditches.  Found in the northern parts of the U.S. and Canada.             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 0.3-1.3 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | ochra/cinnamon brown, darker at edges            |
|      | appearance      | sharply conical but expands with age, glistens   |
|      |                 | when wet, hygrophanous                           |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 0.75-1.00 millimeters                            |
|      | length          | 1-7 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | pure white                                       |
|      | appearance      | fragile, slightly swollen at base                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | crowded, broad                                   |
|      | color           | ochra/cinnamon brown                             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | rust cinnamon brown                              |
|      | size            | 7-9 x 4-4.5 x 4-4.5 micrometers                  |
|      | shape           | ellipsoid, small but distinct germ-pore          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.40-0.80                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GALERA CYANOPES => See CONOCYBE SMITHII                                   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GALERULA CYANOPUS => See CONOCYBE CYANOPUS                                |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NAEMATOLOMA CAERULESCENS => See STROPHARIA CUBENSIS                       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLINA FOENISECII (aka Panaeolus foenisecii, Psilocybe foenisecii,    |
|                        "Mower's mushroom")                                |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A very popular mushroom on lawns, grasses and cattle fields of all kind.  |
| Unlike other Panaeolus species it does *not* grow on dung!                |
| Grows from midsummer to first signs of winter. This one's everywhere!!!   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1-3 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | light brown to dark brown; dries to yellow-brown |
|      | appearance      | broad, bluntly conical to bell-shaped, expanding |
|      |                 | to convex, broadly umbonate, or nearly plane;    |
|      |                 | surface smooth or cracking into scales in dry    |
|      |                 | weather; hygrophanous but not viscid; chestnut-  |
|      |                 | brown to dark brown or cinnamon brown when moist |
|      |                 | fades as it dries to dingy buff or tan, often    |
|      |                 | with darker marginal band when partially dry;    |
|      |                 | flesh thin and fragile.                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 2-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 4-10 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | paler than cap                                   |
|      | appearance      | constant diameter, sometimes with enlarged base, |
|      |                 | fragile, more or less smooth, white to dingy     |
|      |                 | brownish, often becoming brown from the base     |
|      |                 | upward.                                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate to adnexed or seceding, fairly close      |
|      | color           | brown to deep/grayish/chocolate brown, faces     |
|      |                 | often mottled and edges paler or whitish         |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | violet brown                                     |
|      | size            | 12-17 x 7-9 x 7-9 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | lemon shaped, large sprouter                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 0.30                                             |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.00                                             |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Often found with other Panaeolus species.                          |
|      | "Mini-model" of Pa. subbalteatus.                                  |
|      | Very low psilocybin content and some specimens have none at all.   |
|      | TASTES HORRIBLE!  Tea recommended.                                 |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS ACUMINATUS (aka Panaeolus rickenii)                             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grows in horse pastures and rarely on horse manure.  From midsummer       |
| to the borders of winter.  This fragile shroom is quite popular in        |
| Scandinavia and northern Europe.                                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1-2 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | dark brown/black when wet, dark grey when dry,   |
|      |                 | light brown from the center                      |
|      | appearance      | cone-shaped, hygrophilous                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 5-12 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | greyish                                          |
|      | appearance      | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | crowded together                                 |
|      | color           | grey to black, white tips                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | violet brown                                     |
|      | size            | 12-16 x 8-11 x 8-11 micrometers                  |
|      | shape           | lemon shaped                                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 40 (LD), 100 (MD), 150 (HD)                      |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Makes a good strawberry milkshake!                                 |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS ATER                                                            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Fruits in forest clearings and cow pastures from spring to fall.          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1-2 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | dark brown when wet, pale yellow-brown when dry  |
|      | appearance      | bell-shaped, spreads until hemispherical,        |
|      |                 | smooth, hygrophilous                             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 3-7 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | paler from tip, darker from bottom               |
|      | appearance      | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | narrowly attached                                |
|      | color           | first dark grey then black                       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | N/A                                              |
|      | size            | 9-14 x 6-7.5 x 6-7.5 micrometers                 |
|      | shape           | lemon shaped                                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS BENANOSIS => See PANAEOLUS SUBBALTEATUS                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS CAMPANULATUS                                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grows in cattle pastures and especially on horse manure, from midsummer   |
| to fall.                                                                  |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 2-4 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | brown/gray/olive gray when fresh, reddish-brown  |
|      |                 | and paler olive/tan/buff when drier              |
|      | appearance      | bluntly conical or bell-shaped, expands very     |
|      |                 | little with age; surface not viscid, often       |
|      |                 | shiny when dry, smooth or finely wrinkled        |
|      |                 | or often cracking to form scales (especially     |
|      |                 | in sunlight); margin hung with small, white,     |
|      |                 | toothlike veil remnants, at least when young;    |
|      |                 | flesh thin and fragile                           |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 5-15 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | grey or greyish brown                            |
|      | appearance      | equal or thicker at apex, brittle or fragile,    |
|      |                 | slightly powdered                                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate or adnexed but often seceding, fairly     |
|      |                 | close                                            |
|      | color           | first grey, blacken with age; edges whitish      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | black                                            |
|      | size            | 13-18 x 7-12 x 7-12 micrometers                  |
|      | shape           | elliptical and smooth                            |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | N/A (LD), 40-50 (MD), N/A (HD)                   |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Psilocybin content evidently varies, some people have eaten over   |
|      | 100 of these with no effects.                                      |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS FOENISECII => See PANAEOLINA FOENISECII                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS RICKENII => See PANAEOLUS ACUMINATUS                            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS SPHINCTRINUS                                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grows on manure of all kind, from summer to fall.                         |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1-4 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | grey to greyish brown, paler when dry            |
|      | appearance      | bell-shaped, usually smooth but sometimes bumpy, |
|      |                 | not hygrophilous, white scales on the edge       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 5-12 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | grey, paler from tip                             |
|      | appearance      | erect, powdery                                   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate                                           |
|      | color           | grey brown/black, white tips, veil remnants      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | N/A                                              |
|      | size            | 14-18 x 8-12 x 8-12 micrometers                  |
|      | shape           | lemon shaped, with germ-pore                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | N/A (LD), 200 (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 1.90                                             |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PANAEOLUS SUBBALTEATUS (aka Panaeolus benanosis)                          |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Widespread, found in temperate zones including Canada, the northern parts |
| of the U.S. and northern Europe.  Grows on grasses, lawns, pastures,      |
| roadsides; prefers fertilized or manured soil.  Grows in the spring and   |
| fall.                                                                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 2-6 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | variable; brown to reddish/cinnamon brown when   |
|      |                 | moist, fading as it dries to tan/buff/whitish,   |
|      |                 | margin often stays darker when dry               |
|      | appearance      | broad, convex or bluntly conical,                |
|      |                 | becoming broadly convex to broadly unbonate      |
|      |                 | to plane or with an uplifted margin;             |
|      |                 | surface smooth or wrinkled, in age sometimes     |
|      |                 | breaking into scales(fissured), not viscid;      |
|      |                 | flesh thin, brownish                             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 3-5 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 5-10 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | brown to reddish-brown, often dusted by spores   |
|      | appearance      | equal or tapered at either end, hollow but not   |
|      |                 | fragile; usually longitudinally striated         |
|      |                 | throughout.                                      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate to adnexed or sececing, close, broad      |
|      | color           | pale watery brown or reddish brown, darkens      |
|      |                 | gradually to black; edges whitish, faces mottled |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | dark brown                                       |
|      | size            | 11-14 x 7-9 x 6-8 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | lens shaped, with germ pore                      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | 30 (LD), 60 (MD), 100 (HD)                       |
|      | mushrooms       | 5-10 (LD), 20-40 (MD), 60-90 (HD)                |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 1.50-6.00                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.00                                             |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.01-0.05                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Often forms tufts of 2-4 fruitbodies.                              |
|      | There are several distinct subtypes of Pa. subbalteatus, this is   |
|      | the most common one.                                               |
|      | Pa. subbalteatus bears some resemblence to Panaeolina foenisecii.  |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSATHYRA PELLICULOSA => See PSILOCYBE SEMILANCEATA                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE AERUGINEOMACULANS => See PSILOCYBE SUBAERUGINASCENS             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE ATRORUFA => See PSILOCYBE MONTANA                               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE AZTECORUM (aka Psilocybe mexicana var. longispora)              |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found only around Paso de CortΘs and Puebla, Mexico, between 3300 and     |
| 3700 m elevation.  Found in small clusters in open pine woods, fruits in  |
| September only.                                                           |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1.5-2.5 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | milk white to yellowish                          |
|      | appearance      | starts obtuse to subumbonate, expands to broadly |
|      |                 | conical; edge of cap may become cracked          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 0.2-0.4 centimeters                              |
|      | length          | 3.0-6.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | whitish, possibly with gray discolored portions  |
|      | appearance      | fibrous, veil remnants may be visible            |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | closely spaced, broad                            |
|      | color           | deep purple brown, pallid/whitish edges          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | dark dull ochra brown                            |
|      | size            | 11-14 x 5-8 x 5-8 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | elongated ellipsoid, with germ pore              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 2-3 (LD), 4-10 (MD), 20-40 (HD)                  |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Ps. aztecorum resembles Ps. mexicana to some degree and was        |
|      | originally thought to be a variant.  Dosage has been estimated on  |
|      | the assumption that they are equally potent; it is known to be a   |
|      | hallucinogen.                                                      |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE BAEOCYSTIS                                                      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can be found growing on ground bark, wood chips, peat moss and sometimes  |
| on lawns. Common on campuses. This popular mushroom appears from fall     |
| through midsummer in large clumps. Prevalent throughout the Pacific       |
| Northwest.  Fruits prolifically from fall through winter.                 |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1.4-5.4 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | olive brown to buffy brown, greenish if touched  |
|      | appearance      | edge of cap undulates like a bottle cap or       |
|      |                 | umbrella, a brown spot appears in the center of  |
|      |                 | the cap after drying                             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 2.0-3.0 millimeters                              |
|      | length          | 5.0-7.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | white except for yellowish apex                  |
|      | appearance      | often characterized by twisting bends            |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | relatively closed spaced                         |
|      | color           | dark cinnamon or gray                            |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | gray                                             |
|      | size            | 10-13 x 6-7 x 6-7 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | cylindrical with tapered corners                 |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 1.50-8.50                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.50-5.90                                        |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.10-1.00                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | As the name indicates, it has a lot of baeocystin.                 |
|      | This is the only common Psilocybe for which a fatality, a          |
|      | 7-year-old boy, is known.                                          |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE CAERULESCENS (aka Psilocybe mazatecorum, "Durrumbe",            |
|                         "Landslide")                                      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found throughout the southern United States, from California to Louisiana |
| and South Carolina to Florida; a Mexican variety called Ps. caerulescens  |
| mazatecorum exists.  Evidently unknown elsewhere.  Grows on the banks of  |
| rivers and streams in the summer during rainy season.                     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 2.0-8.8 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | deep green to black, fades with age              |
|      | appearance      | cone-shaped when young, expands to convex/flat   |
|      |                 | (never bowl-shaped), smooth and sticky, no       |
|      |                 | nipple, margin of cap lighter/darker than center |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 0.2-1.0 centimeters                              |
|      | length          | 4.0-12.2 centimeters                             |
|      | color           | glassy-white to grayish                          |
|      | appearance      | even, hollow, smooth, tough, covered w/ hairs,   |
|      |                 | possibly remnants of evanescent veil             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | closely spaced                                   |
|      | color           | light gray to dark brown/black as it ages        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | deep purple brown                                |
|      | size            | 6-8 x 5-6 x 4-5 micrometers                      |
|      | shape           | elliptic to inequilateral, broad germ pore       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 2-3 (LD), 4-10 (MD), 20-40 (HD)                  |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | The dosage is an estimate, the mushroom is said to be roughly      |
|      | equivalent to Str. cubensis.                                       |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE CUBENSIS => See STROPHARIA CUBENSIS                             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The nomenclature of this mushroom remains confused.  Europeans and most   |
| ethnopharmacologists call it by its original name, Stropharia (Psilocybe) |
| cubensis Earle, which is the name its discoverer R.E. Schultes gave it.   |
| However, the American mycologist Rolf Singer reclassified it as Psilocybe |
| cubensis (Earle) Singer, which is what mycologists usually call it.       |
| We have decided to stick with Stropharia cubensis.                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE CYANESCENS (aka "Wavy Caps", "Blue Halos")                      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Doesn't grow on dung, but on hardwoods and woodchips. Inhabits landscaped |
| yards containing ground bark and dwells under Douglas fir or cedar and in |
| mulched rhododendron beds.  Fruits prolifically from fall through winter  |
| in the Pacific Northwest, also found in England.                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1.5-4.0 (extreme case 7.5) centimeters           |
|      | color           | chestnut brown, lightens to yellowish with age   |
|      | appearance      | broad and convex, expands with age to plane or   |
|      |                 | margin uplifted, viscid when moist, margin of    |
|      |                 | cap often stained blue (hence the nickname)      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 2.5-6.0 millimeters                              |
|      | length          | 3.0-8.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | dry whitish                                      |
|      | appearance      | silky, fibrous, base enlarged and often curved   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | typically adneted, sometimes seceding; fairly    |
|      |                 | closely spaced; veil remnants may form tiny ring |
|      | color           | cinnamon color becomes dark brown, edges paler   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | purple-brown/purple-gray/purple-black            |
|      | size            | 9-12 x 6-8 x 5-8 micrometers                     |
|      | shape           | nearly elliptic, smooth, broad germ pore         |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| dried grams     | N/A (LD), 2.0-2.5 (MD), N/A (HD)                 |
|      | mushrooms       | 1-2 (LD), 3-4 (MD), 5+ (HD)                      |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 3.20-16.8                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 2.00-5.10                                        |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.10-0.50                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Generally grows in clusters.                                       |
|      | The most potent Psilocybe mushroom known.                          |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE FOENISECII => See PANAEOLINA FOENISECII                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE MAZATECORUM => See PSILOCYBE CAERULESCENS                       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE MEXICANA (aka "Teonanßcatl")                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found only in Southern Mexico and Guatemala.  Grows from May to October   |
| in the zone between tropical and temperate climates (1500-1800 meters),   |
| in open fields or meadows but never dung.                                 |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 0.5-3.3 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | deep ochra to ochra brown                        |
|      | appearance      | starts conical, gradually inverts to convex,     |
|      |                 | then to flat and finally bowl-shaped; has a      |
|      |                 | central 'nipple'                                 |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 0.1-0.3 centimeters                              |
|      | length          | 2.0-8.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | ochra, usually paler than cap                    |
|      | appearance      | hollow                                           |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | closely to medium spaced                         |
|      | color           | pale gray, whitish edges                         |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | deep sepia to dark purple brown                  |
|      | size            | 9-11 x 7-8 x 5-7 micrometers                     |
|      | shape           | compressed, elliptic/rhombic, with germ pore     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 2-3 (LD), 4-10 (MD), 20-40 (HD)                  |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Ps. mexicana is the original 'magic mushroom' of the Mazatec       |
|      | Indians and the first one discovered by the West.                  |
|      | Ps. mexicana always grows solitary, but there are usually many     |
|      | others near each fruitbody.                                        |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE MEXICANA var. LONGISPORA => See PSILOCYBE AZTECORUM             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE MONTANA (aka Psilocybe atrorufa)                                |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grows in low moss on sandy land, roadsides etc.  From summer to fall,     |
| sometimes in spring, quite popular.                                       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 0.5-2 centimeters                                |
|      | color           | red-brown, paler when dry                        |
|      | appearance      | hemispherical, sticky when wet                   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1-2 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 1-4 centimeters                                  |
|      | color           | light brown                                      |
|      | appearance      | crumbles easily                                  |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | widely spaced                                    |
|      | color           | first light brown, become purple-brown with age  |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | N/A                                              |
|      | size            | 6-9 x 5-6 x 4-5 micrometers                      |
|      | shape           | oval shaped                                      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 40 (LD), 100 (MD), 200 (HD)                      |
|      | fresh grams     |  5 (LD),  15 (MD),  30 (HD)                      |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 0.0 (?)                                          |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.0 (?)                                          |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Chemical studies have found no psilocybin or psilocin in this,     |
|      | yet reports of its use exist.  Caveat emptor.                      |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE PELLICULOSA => See PSILOCYBE SEMILANCEATA                       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE PUGETENSIS => See PSILOCYBE STUNTZII                            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE SEMILANCEATA (aka Psathyra pelliculosa, Psilocybe pelliculosa,  |
|                         "Liberty Cap")                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found in northern temperate zone throughout the world. Grows inland up to |
| a thousand miles (1500 km) from the ocean. Northwestern U.S, Scandinavia, |
| the British Isles and western Europe. Very popular in Norway and other    |
| parts of Scandinavia.  Fruits in grasses and cow pastures, parks and      |
| roadsides in the fall.                                                    |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 5-10 millimeters                                 |
|      | color           | brown, drying to yellowish brown                 |
|      | appearance      | sharply conical, small "nipple" on top, never    |
|      |                 | expands, incurved, striated margin, sticky when  |
|      |                 | wet                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 2-3 millimeters                                  |
|      | length          | 6-10 centimeters                                 |
|      | color           | pallid to yellowish or brown, darkens with age,  |
|      |                 | does *not* bruise blue                           |
|      | appearance      | wavy and tough, fibrilliose, veil absent or      |
|      |                 | rudimentary, small dark ring may be present      |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate or adnexed, slant upwards to almost       |
|      |                 | vertical                                         |
|      | color           | first pale, soon becomes purplish brown          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | brown                                            |
|      | size            | 12-16 x 7-9 x 7-9 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | ellipsoid, with germ pore                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 5-10 (LD), 20-40 (MD), 60-90 (HD)                |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 10.0-11.0                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.00                                             |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.90-3.40                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Ps. pelliculosa is actually a separate species, but the two are    |
|      | indistinguishable to the naked eye.  It grows in sawdust or wood   |
|      | chip piles in forests where lumberjacks have been working.  The    |
|      | two can be distinguished by spore size, with Ps. pelliculosa       |
|      | spores being smaller at 9-13 x 5-7 x 5-7 micrometers.  Ps. pelli.  |
|      | is also weaker in potency, having only 1.2-7.1 mg/g and 0.0-0.5    |
|      | mg/g psilocybin and baeocystin respectively.                       |
|      | Ps. semil. contains more baeocystin than most other Psilocybes,    |
|      | which may account for the subjective difference in quality.        |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE STUNTZII (aka Psilocybe pugetensis)                             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Commonly found in Washington state (U.S.) and British Columbia (Canada).  |
| Found on lawns, in fields and bark mulch; originally identified growing   |
| on the U of Washington campus!  Fruits from August to December.           |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 0.5-3.5 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | variable; deep olive-brown to chestnut brown if  |
|      |                 | young, fading to dingy yellow-brown or yellowish |
|      |                 | buff; margin often tinged greenish               |
|      | appearance      | bluntly conical becoming convex to broadly       |
|      |                 | umbonate, plane, or with uplifted margin; viscid |
|      |                 | when moist; margin striate when moist            |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1.5-4.0 millimeters                              |
|      | length          | 2.0-7.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | white to ochraceous brown                        |
|      | appearance      | becomes hollow with age, equal or thicker at     |
|      |                 | either end, often curved, not viscid, veil may   |
|      |                 | form fragile ring or fibrillose zone             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | adnate or adnexed, narrow, close to well spaced  |
|      | color           | chocolate brown to violet/black, whitish edges   |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | deep violet to dark purple                       |
|      | size            | 8-12 x 6-7 x 6-7 micrometers                     |
|      | shape           | not quite elliptic, with germ pore               |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 3.6-0.4                                          |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.1-0.6                                          |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.0-0.2                                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | This mushroom is quite similar to Ps. cyanescens, Ps. venenata     |
|      | and Ps. subaeruginascens; however, the latter two do not grow in   |
|      | Northern America.  There are also some poisonous Galerina species  |
|      | that resemble Ps. stuntzii, so be careful.  The Galerinas grow in  |
|      | forested areas, not lawns and fields.                              |
|      | Ps. stuntzii can grow either in clusters or solitary.              |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE SUBAERUGINOSA                                                   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found throughout Australia and regions nearby.  Grows solitary or in      |
| groups on soil in forests.                                                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | up to 5 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | "biscuit brown", darker when wet                 |
|      | appearance      | conical with inturned edge when young, becomes   |
|      |                 | convex when older                                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | relatively thin                                  |
|      | length          | up to 10 centimeters                             |
|      | color           | white with occasional grey/blue/green blotches   |
|      | appearance      | traces of veil may remain as a small ring        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | closely spaced, may be attached to stem          |
|      | color           | smoky brown/black                                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | purplish brown                                   |
|      | size            | 10-15 x 5-9 x 5-9 micrometers                    |
|      | shape           | ellipsoid, with germ pore                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 2-5 (LD), 5-13 (MD), 20+ (HD)                    |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE SUBAERUGINASCENS (aka Psilocybe aerugineomaculans, Stropharia   |
|                             caerulescens, Stropharia venenata)            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found in some parts of Asia, at least northern Japan and Java, Indonesia. |
| Usually found on horse manure but evidently grows on rotten wood as well. |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1.5-2.5 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | whitish with smoke-brown center                  |
|      | appearance      | flat to convex, glabrous and smooth              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1.5-3.0 millimeters                              |
|      | length          | 3.0-4.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | white                                            |
|      | appearance      | traces of veil may remain as a small ring        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | widely spaced                                    |
|      | color           | grayish brown, edges paler                       |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | violet brown                                     |
|      | size            | 8-10 x 7-8 x 6-7 micrometers                     |
|      | shape           | ellipsoid, with germ pore                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| fresh grams     | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | This mushroom is known to be hallucinogenic in reasonable doses,   |
|      | but unlike most other Psilocybes it is also toxic and possibly     |
|      | even lethal in higher ones (deaths are known).  Caveat emptor!     |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PSILOCYBE ZAPOTECORUM (aka "Mbey San", "Piule de Barda")                  |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found only in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Grows primarily on soil in swamps.         |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 6.0-11.0 centimeters                             |
|      | color           | ochra yellow to brown/purple/black               |
|      | appearance      | bell-shaped, becomes breast-shaped; always       |
|      |                 | twisted and asymmetric in shape                  |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 1.0-2.0 centimeters                              |
|      | length          | 10.0-20.0 centimeters                            |
|      | color           | brownish (inside of stem lighter or white)       |
|      | appearance      | very fibrous, elastic, often twisted, hollow     |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | rather closely spaced, not very broad            |
|      | color           | violet-purple                                    |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | brown purple                                     |
|      | size            | 6-9 x 4-5 x 3-4 micrometers                      |
|      | shape           | compressed ellipsoid, with germ pore             |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | N/A (LD), N/A (MD), N/A (HD)                     |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | N/A                                              |
|      |      psilocin   | N/A                                              |
|      |      baeocystin | N/A                                              |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Ps. zapotecorum is used as a hallucinogen by Chatino and Zapotec   |
|      | Indians.                                                           |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STROPHARIA CAERULESCENS => See PSILOCYBE SUBAERUGINASCENS                 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STROPHARIA CYANESCENS => See STROPHARIA CUBENSIS                          |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STROPHARIA (PSILOCYBE) CUBENSIS (aka Naematoloma caerulescens, Psilocybe  |
|                      cubensis, Stropharia cyanescens, "San Isidro")       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Found throughout the southern United States, from California to Louisiana |
| and South Carolina to Florida, as well as most of Central and South       |
| America, and parts of southeast Asia.  Arrived to the Americas with       |
| Spanish Brahma cattle from the Philippine Islands.  Grows on cow manure   |
| or manure-fertilized soil.                                                |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|CAP   | diameter        | 1.6-8.0 centimeters                              |
|      | color           | pure white to light brown, translucent when wet  |
|      | appearance      | starts conical, gradually inverts to convex,     |
|      |                 | then to flat and finally bowl-shaped; has a gold |
|      |                 | center spot; covered by sticky protective film;  |
|      |                 | flesh firm and white; margin sometimes hung      |
|      |                 | with veil remnants                               |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|STEM  | diameter        | 0.4-1.4 centimeters                              |
|      | length          | 4.0-15.0 centimeters                             |
|      | color           | white or bluish-stained                          |
|      | appearance      | membranous, usually forms a thin fragile ring    |
|      |                 | on stalk which is blackened by falling spores    |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|GILLS | form            | closely spaced, initially attached to stem but   |
|      |                 | may separate with age                            |
|      | color           | light brown/gray to deep purple/black, edges     |
|      |                 | whitish                                          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|SPORES| color           | dark brown to blackish                           |
|      | size            | 12-17 x 8-12 x 7-9 micrometers                   |
|      | shape           | smooth, nearly elliptic, with germ pore          |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|DOSAGE| mushrooms       | 2-3 (LD), 4-10 (MD), 20-40 (HD)                  |
|      | dried grams     | 1-2 (LD), 3-5  (MD), 10-20 (HD)                  |
|      | mg/g psilocybin | 4.00-12.0                                        |
|      |      psilocin   | 0.00-1.00                                        |
|      |      baeocystin | 0.00-0.20                                        |
+------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|OTHER | Str. cubensis is the most important of the psilocybian mushrooms,  |
|      | being common in the Americans and relatively easy to cultivate.    |
|      | Str. cubensis variety cyanescens, found in Florida, is a sort of   |
|      | albino Str. cub. with very little pigment in the cap.              |
|      | Str. cubensis variety caerulescens, found in Indochina, has cap    |
|      | colored clear yellow in some places.                               |
+------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STROPHARIA VENENATA => See PSILOCYBE SUBAERUGINASCENS                     |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

.oO Other psychoactive species

   Here is a brief list of dosage information on some other mushrooms.
Some Psilocybes that are known to contain no psilocybin/psilocin are
included.  Descriptions have been purposely omitted, since I don't have
enough info for a full-scale description like the ones above; if you are
interested, look them up in a guide.

  Genus           Shrooms   Grams   Psilocyb. Psilocin  Baeocys.    Notes
   species         fresh    fresh   mg/g dry  mg/g dry  mg/g dry
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| BOLETUS        |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  erythropus    |        |  100+  |         |         |         | 1        |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| COPRINUS       |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  narcoticus    |        |   50+  |         |         |         |          |
|  niveus        |        |   50+  |         |         |         |          |
|  patouillardii |        |   50+  |         |         |         |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| GYMNOPILUS     |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  purpuratus    |        |        | 1.0-3.4 | 1.0-3.1 | 0.5-0.1 |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| INOCYBE        |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  aeruginascens |        |        |   4.0   |   0.0   |   2.1   |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| PANAEOLUS      |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  olivaceus     |        |        |   0.05  |   0.0   |         |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| PLUTEUS        |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  atricapillus  |        |        |   0.05  |   0.0   |         |          |
|  salicinus     |        |        | 2.1-3.0 | 0.0-0.5 |         |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| PSATHYRELLA    |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  candolleana   |        |        |   0.04  |   0.05  |         |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| PSILOCYBE      |        |        |         |         |         |          |
|  bohemica      |        |        | 8.5-9.3 |         |         |          |
|  bullacea      | 40-200 |  5-30  |         |         |         |          |
|  cookei        | 10-25  |  2-10  |         |         |         | 2        |
|  coprophila    | 50-200 | 15-100 |   0.0   |   0.0   |         | 3        |
|  inquilina     |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
|  merdaria      |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
|  muscorum      | 40-200 |  5-30  |         |         |         |          |
|  percivalii    |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
|  rhombispora   |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
|  squamosa      |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
|  subcoprophila |        |        |   0.0   |   0.0   |         |          |
+----------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+

Notes:

 1  Has poisonous lookalikes.
 2  Very similar to Ps. semilanceata.
 3  No psilocybin or psilocin detected chemically despite reports of
    successful use as a hallucinogen.

.oOo Mushroom Resources .oOo.

>>> Archives on the Internet

hemp.uwec.edu (FTP, Gopher)

   Contains a nice set of mushroom GIFs.
   Directory of interest: ???

hyperreal.com (FTP, WWW, Gopher)

   *The* site for drug information on the 'Net.
   Directory of interest: /drugs/psychedelics/mushrooms

teleport.com (FTP)

   The FTP site for the FUNGUS mailing list (see below).
   Directory of interest: /pub/users/rarnold/mushroom/FUNGUS

>>> Mailing lists on the Internet

FUNGUS

   A list devoted to mushroom growers, the guidelines specifically ban
   discussion of illegal topics, so use a little common sense.  The
   interesting types are however mentioned occasionally, usually under
   the name "stropharia", and quite a bit of the info is of interest to
   all growers.

   Request address: [e-mail]
   First line of message: "SUBSCRIBE FUNGUS <address>"

Visionary Plants

   A list devoted to all issues regarding visionary plants, primarily
   mushrooms and species that contain DMT.  Highly informative and highly
   recommended.

   Request address: [e-mail]

   This list is selective and maintained by a human, so be polite and tell
   a bit about yourself and why you want to subscribe, etc.

>>> Companies in the Real World

** Warning: Some of these are probably fly-by-night companies that may
** already have disappeared, so be careful.  All addresses are in the USA
** unless otherwise noted.

   BJ                           Str. cubensis or Lepiota peele sporeprints
   #118 10548 SW 8th St.        for $2; Amanita pantherina coming up in
   Miami, FL 33174              the future.

   Conscious Dreams             Sells fresh mushrooms (F25/oz), growing
   Kerkstraat 117               kits, spore prints (Str. cub, Ps. cyan.),
   1017 GE Amstergam            and live cultures.
   The Netherlands              (Phone: [phone])

   The DoorWay                  Sells lots of books and a shroom kit.
   P.O. Box 12553               Send $1 for catalog.
   Ogden, UT 84412-2553         (E-Mail: [e-mail])

   Fane of the Psilocybe        Also known as "The Fane", send $1 for
      Mushroom Association      a membership form.  Issues of their
   Station "E"                  publication "The Sporeprint" cost $5.
   Victoria, B.C. V8W 2W3
   Canada

** FMRC                         Florida Mycology Research Center
1* P.O. Box 8104                ** NO LONGER SELLS PSILOCYBE SPORES **
** Pensacola, FL 32505

   FS Book Company              Does not sell spores, but sells a "Mushroom
   P.O. Box 417457              Resource Catalog" for $15.
   Sacramento, CA 95841-7457    (Phone: [phone])

   Fungi Perfecti               Does not sell Psilocybe spores, but
   P.O. Box 7634                everything else is available.
   Olympia, WA 98507            (Phone : [phone] orders only
                                         [phone] other/int'l
                                 Fax   : [phone]
                                 E-Mail: [e-mail])

   J.L.F.                       Supposedly sells some rare species ready
   P.O. Box 184-SC              to eat and lotsa weird stuff.  Free catalog.
   Elizabethtown, IN 47232      (Phone: [phone])

   HEMP BC                      Str. cubensis syringe w/ instructions $33.95,
   324 West Hastings            complete kit $95.65.  S&H included, add $5
   Vancouver, B.C.              for delivery overseas.
   Canada V6B 1K6               (Phone: [phone]
                                 Fax  : [phone]
                                 WWW  : http://www.hempbc.com)

** Homestead Books              Str. cubensis spores ($25), kits ($70), and
2* P.O. Box 31608               books/videos about growing.
** Seattle, WA 98103            (Phone: [phone])

   Lux Natura                   No spores, but McKenna stuff and a new,
   P.O. Box 2196                extended version of "Psilocybin: Magic
   Berkeley, CA  94704          Mushroom Grower's Guide."  Free catalog.

** Mushroompeople               Sells books related to mushrooms (including
3* P.O. Box 220                 but not limited to psychoactive ones).
** Summertown, TN 38483-0220    (E-Mail    : [e-mail]
                                 Voice/Fax : [phone]
                                 US Fax    : +1-800-MYCO-FAX)

   Mycophile Books              Just what the name says, and nothing more.
   P.O. Box 93                  Also sell used and rare books.  Catalog $3.
   Naples, FL 33939             (Phone: [phone])

   Pacific Exotic Spora         Panaeolus cyanescens and Coplandia cyanescens
   P.O. box 11611               spores.  Very expensive, $40-$75.
   Honolulu, HI 96828

   PRL Biosciences              Str. cubensis culture for $40, other equipment
                                and supplies available.  Free catalog.
                                (Fax: [phone])

** Psylocybe Fanaticus          Send $2 & SASE for ad (electronic version
4* 1202 E. Pike St.  #783       on hyperreal.com).  Spores come in syringes
** Seattle, WA 98122            making them considerably easier to use.

   Teonanßcatl                  $5 for small Ps. cyanescens Astoria Ossip
   (postlagernd)                or small Ps. cyanascens USA sporeprint,
   Postamt 1092                 $10-20 for large Ps. cy. AO sporeprint.
   A-1092 Vienna                Add $2 for shipping and handling.
   Austria                      (E-Mail: [e-mail])

   The Shroom King              Str. cubensis print and a book for $25,
   P.O. Box 17444               above plus compost and agar for $35.
   Seattle, WA 98107            (Phone: [phone])

   SYZYGY                       $15 + $1 (S&H) for a Str. cubensis print
   P.O. Box 619                 on a slide.
   Honaunau, HI 96726

Additional notes:

*1* FMRC: While they do not sell Psilocybe spores anymore, they are
    still active supporters of the issue and they also put an excellent
    publication named "The Mushroom Culture".

*2* Homestead Books: Around for a long time, cheap, and knowledgeable.

*3* Mushroompeople: The best, although not necessarily the cheapest, source
    for all types of mushroom literature.

*4* Psylocybe Fanaticus: The best known of the 'underground' sellers,
    with cheap prices, very fast turnaround times, and high reliability.
    Outside the US, add an extra $10 to your order for shipping & handling.

Updates to the list are welcome, of course.

.oOo. Growing Mushrooms .oOo.

   This is about the only aspect of mushrooms that _has_ been thoroughly
covered in text files, so we advise you to consult them.  Here are few
of the better known and more complete files:

   The Psilocybin Producer's Guide
   Psilly Simon's Mushroom Growin' Guide II
   How To Grow Psychedelic Mushrooms
   Psylocybe Fanaticus Tek

   There are also numerous files described more specialized methods such as
different agar mixes, reports of successful growing, etc.  For the serious
or interested, there is Paul Stamets' excellent book, The Mushroom
Cultivator, and McKenna brothers' Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's
Guide written under pseudonyms O. T. Oss and O. N. Oeric, both available
through many mail-order companies, such as FS books.

   All available at a local friendly FTP site such as hyperreal.com, except
for the P.F. Tek which is copyrighted and thus contraband (unless you pay
$10 to PF, that is).  And of course a bit of research at your local library
won't hurt one bit.  There are also two mailing lists which regularly
discuss growing mushrooms.

.oOo. Picking Mushrooms .oOo.

## Before you leave for the site, remember a few things; clothing, container
   and energy. So respectively:

-- Take clothing that keeps you warm and dry.  Fever is not a funny thing
   during your experience.  If your clothing is inadequate, a day out
   picking mushrooms can be a real pain.

-- Take a container that breathes, preferably two to four different
   containers. And one set for each picker.  Take lots of containers
   with you, especially if you are unsure or have not found the species -
   it is easy to put each sort into each container.  A basket with a few
   paper cups or tins is just fine. Paper and cloth bags will do fine, but
   be wary of crushing the mushrooms during transport.

-- Energy. Mushroom hunting can be really tiresome at times. Take your
   happiness and food rations with you - you'll probably need both.

## Once you have located the site keep it clean. If it is a cowfield,
   don't leave any gates open or either the owner of the field or the bull
   of the herd will get you. Try to just do your thing and then get out of
   there. Don't scream and shout. I wouldn't recommend telling about a site
   to anyone - it instantaneously creates an "anonymous mmp-site" - and
   suddenly everyone is there, sooner or later including the cops too.

## OK, run around the field... do you find any mushrooms? If none found,
   you are not looking hard enough.  No matter where you go in the fall,
   there's some sort of mushroom there.  You'd be surprised at how well
   the things can hide themselves.  Found - what is it?  Whether you
   identify it or not, put each species into different container - if in
   doubt - different container or throw it away. There are always two
   phases in identifying - when picking and when cleaning (or should be).
   Always check carefully - saves you lot of trouble.

Here's what the Audubon Society's "Field Guide to North American Mushrooms"
has to say on the issue:

"Collect mushrooms in a flat-bottomed basket.  Take along a roll of wax
 paper and wrap each species you find; do not use plastic wrap since it
 hastens decay.  This will keep species separate and fresh until you
 return home.  A pocket knife or trowel is useful in extracting mushrooms
 from the ground; be very careful not to disturb the underground root
 system more than necessary.  Bring note cards with you and jot down
 pertinent field data.  In particular, note the habitat of the mushroom,
 including what type of tree it is growing on or near; whether it is
 growing singly, scattered, in groups, or in clusters; any distinctive
 odor or taste; the color of the cap, stalk, gills, pores, or teeth, and
 latex, which may change after the mushroom has been picked.  Note any
 color changes when it is bruised.  You can also use the note cards to set
 up spore prints in the field; they will often be ready by the time you
 return home.  If you are absolutely certain of the identification of an
 edible species, you can clean it in the field.  Until you are
 experienced, however, it is best to take the mushroom home intact; the
 stalk base is often a crucial identification feature, and cleaning can
 remove diagnostic characteristics.  The more characteristics you can
 observe, the better chance you have of identifying the mushroom.  It
 helps to have fresh mushrooms rather than old ones, and to collect many
 specimens of one kind at various stages of growth."

.oOo. Drying Mushrooms .oOo.

>>> Fresh

Mushrooms are best when fresh, both tasting better and working better.
The freshness affects experiences a lot.  The "divinity factor" is
enhanced.

>>> Drying

Drying mushrooms is easy. There are many ways to do it:

* The drawer.  Put the mushrooms into a drawer on few sheets of paper.
  Wait 24 hours.  Works well on smaller mushrooms such as Ps. semilanceata.
  If you have silica gel or something similar (captures humidity) I'd
  recommend using it.

* The oven.  Put the mushrooms into an oven (with the fan on if there is
  one) with the heat set to 30 to 35 C (~90 F).  Wait 2 to 6 hours.  Higher
  temperatures, even 40 C, destroy psilocybin and psilocin.

* The mushroom dryer.  Just follow the instructions.  Also easy to build.

* The freeze dryer.  A psilophile's dream come true, the gadget that stops
  the time on your mushrooms.  Read the instructions.

   Once the mushrooms are dry, place them into *airtight* containers and
protect from light.  Some psilophiles grind the mushrooms, if you do so,
weight the outcome. It is very hard to tell how much of a dose there is if
the mushrooms are dried and ground. Some mix the dried and chopped or
ground mushrooms with honey. Be sure to use a brand that hardens once
cooled.  Place in refrigerator.  Note that mushrooms containing only
psilocybin keep their psychoactivity much longer than those containing
psilocybin and psilocin or only the latter.  Evidently the psilocin breaks
up easily and needs refrigeration to be preserved.  I have never had to
preserve mushrooms over a year so I wouldn't know exactly, but if stored
properly the mushrooms stay psychoactive for *at least* a year.

   Especially with strong, large mushrooms like Str. cubensis, grinding
is the only way of calibrating doses.  With for example Ps. semilanceata,
statistics ensure that the sum of 40 mushrooms from a batch will be more
or less the same no matter which 40 you pick, but if you're eating only
two Str. cubensis caps things are different.  Thus, dry, grind, mix and
weigh the resulting powder.  After a carefully weighed initial dose
(which you'll have to guess, aim low), it's easy to measure out smaller
or larger doses in the future.

.oOo. On the Dosage .oOo.

   Always start with low doses - and continue for at least for the first
couple of times. Some people might be familiar with LSD-25. Well they are
bit similar, but still very different. I'd recommend about 20 Ps.
semilanceatas or 2-3 dried grams, 2-3 dry g.'s for Stropharia cubensis,
1-2 dry g.'s of Ps. cyanescens or about 3 g.'s of Ps. baeocystis. Increase
the dose step by step, until you find the dose you are most comfortable
with. There are people who never go for more than an ultra light trip, and
some feel it must be an earthshattering experience. You'll probably find
your dosage somewhere between these two extremes.
   The amounts of psilocin and -cybin vary: an extreme case >>>

        "Me and a friend of mine were in a rave, and both had taken
         some mushrooms along. Semilanceatas... so at one point we
         decided to drink some mushroom tea, and both put 20 tiny
         mushrooms into our teas... I got nearly nowhere.. some funny
         effects, almost no dilation of pupils, very very light trip.
         My friend kept saying 'Wow' and 'What a trip', and some friends
         of ours tried to talk with him. Afterwards he said he didn't
         understand a word =). He said the trip was so intense it was
         as if he had consumed 60 semilanceatas."

.oOo. Consumption .oOo.

Once ready for a trip after a yearlong meditation in the wilderness,
one is confronted with a problem - how to get that dry and unpleasant
tasting stuff down?

o Honey & spices & water & mushrooms

This one is a bit sweet but does a good job of covering the taste. Take a
half glass of warm or cold water, three or more spoonfuls of honey, and
according to taste, spices such as nutmeg, ginger and others. Grind the
mushrooms with spices into fine powder, mix everything carefully and
gulp down.

o Mushroom cacao

Get some cacao beans/powder for this one.  Warm some _water_ to 40-60 C.
Let the mushrooms steep in this water for about five minutes, fish 'em
out and add cacao powder and mix well.  Or you can grind mushrooms into
fine powder.  Sweeten with honey, and drink.  Another variation is hot
chocolate - melt some chocolate in water instead of cacao.

o Mushroom tea

Drown some dried mushrooms in warm/hot water, wait five minutes, and
drink.  If you seriously dislike the taste of shrooms, just drink the
water (although you'll lose part of the effect).  I find that this is
a good way of getting the shrooms down as well though, just dump in a
baggy of strong tea and you won't taste a thing.  Word of warning: if you
leave the shrooms in for too long, they'll expand and mutate into
disgusting blobs of slime.  Also a nice way of getting some clue of their
original appearance, provided the mushrooms are intact.

o Mushrooms & orange juice

Blend an appropriate amount of fresh mushrooms and orange juice in a
blender.  The orange juice masks the taste quite well, the blender chops
up the shrooms into tiny chunks so all the psilocybin is digested,
and the vitamin C in the juice won't hurt either.

o Pizzas

Just add fresh or dried mushrooms on top. Note that eating a lot adds to
physical interference.

o Shroom powder and liquids of choice

The finer you grind the shrooms, the better this works.  Take a piece of
paper and fold twice so you have a V-shape, and make a little pile of
shroom powder on one end of it.  Open your mouth and let the stuff flow
in, then drink water/juice/tea/whatever to wash it down.  Figure out an
optimal pile size, and you can down the shrooms in record time with no taste
and maximum psilocybin ingestion efficiency.  Just be careful not to
laugh or sneeze when holding the paper, otherwise you'll have to lick the
carpet to get the powder...  =)

o Chew & grind

For this one, toss mushrooms into your mouth, chew well and swallow. The
most efficient and simple method of mushroom ingestion.  Dried mushrooms
taste quite a bit more unpleasant than fresh ones.

o Other recipes

I have heard about people making mushroom wine or mushroom chili. There
are lots of foods you can put mushrooms into, but I'd recommend
indulging in culinary pleasures after the trip.  Also note that excessive
heat breaks down psilocybin and psilocin, so always add the shrooms in
after the food is cooked.

As you may have noted, except for the cheese on the pizza, none the recipes
contain any milk or milk products.  This is because several files and/or
books have stated that calcium and/or fermented milk products interfere
with psilocybin.  Mind you, this is far from sure, if anybody can dig up a
reference for (or against) this we'd appreciate it.  But scientific proofs
aside, the Aztec tradition of not eating before tripping is probably
grounded in knowledge of possible adverse consequences, so don't eat too
much, just enough to get the shrooms down.

.oOo. Preparation For The Voyage .oOo.

There is a lot one can do to ensure a enjoyable voyage.  People often talk
about the "set and setting", squaking the three words like bunch of
parrots and hardly giving much thought into their meaning.  It's probably
all the same whether you've ingested super-pure & fresh LSD-25 or
nail-polishing fluid if the set and the setting aren't in condition.

- Packing: Get into packing a couple of days before the voyage.  Load
your gear (brain) with everything you think will be useful.  Personally
I like documents about nature as they are easy to pack (video or TV).
Books are fine but bit slower to load. Walking in nature, quiet and
peaceful, and meditating ensures I get enough mental energy and
happiness along.  Try to break the normal circles of work, and if you are
stressed, take few more days away from everything before leaving on the
expedition.  Go easy on your diet.  Some fast for the previous week, others
don't pay any attention to what and how much they eat. I eat normally
until the day before, after which I eat mostly vegetables and fruits.

- Place: Clean it up.  Get some fresh air into it.  Tell all your
friends/relatives not to visit, and disconnect the doorbell and take
the phone off the wall.  Make everything as comfortable as possible.
Fresh flowers will blow your mind with their beautiful looks and odors.
A stroboscope is also worth a try, especially at 20 to 30 Hz.  Lights are
probably best low or off (and of white color).  Music is so important
we've given it its own section, coming up next.

- Flight: Loose clothing and something to put on/take off; you'll be
lying down most of the time, so pick something you could sleep in.
Something to drink - see if your drinks include caffeine or other
chemicals.  Water is always the best.  Some light snacks to eat during
the trip, and possibly something to fill your stomach after the trip.
Drawing during take-off can be fun, also psychedelic videos. Anyway, for
a real "trip" I say: after the takeoff, turn the lights off, turn the
volume to the edge of subliminal, and relax & tune into the vibe of
the Earth.

.oOo. Music and the Voyage .oOo.

One of the important factors of the setting is music - especially in
urban environment music may be necessery to camouflage and change the
every-day-soundscape.  Music can tingle your imagination in a myriad
different ways.  Music can take you away, comfort or make you feel
unbelievalably good.  It can also make you sad, jumpy or angry.
Therefore it is very important to make the right choice of music.
There is tripping music and there is tripping music - depending on the
results one wishes to achieve. I will concentrate on the deeper side;
music for shamanic voyages, spacetravels and intense mushroom-magic-trips.
I speak from my own experience, thru my own frame of reference, so all of
the material recommended might not be on your wavelength - I was often
skeptical myself but results often are awesome and surprising.  Music you
like during your normal states of conciousness is probably not ideal - for
instance lots of the ambient done today is not very nice for tripping, but
probably ideal listening both before and after the trip. For a voyage try
to find music that is calm, not too hectic or fast, not too structured and
stays in the background if desired.

Ambient - lots of music goes under this name today, and it may
very hard to find something truly ambient among all those new ambient-
techno/dub releases... All time favorites of mine and many others include
Ashra Temple, John Cage, Cluster, Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Steve Hillage,
Daniel Lanois, Pink Floyd, David Toop & Max Eastley, Tangerine Dream and
Tuu.  Many music stores lump these under the heading "New Age" next to
stuff like Yanni, bleah...  All of these move on the more serious tangents
- worth checking out.  On the lighter, more techno side of the ambient -
try Aphex Twin, James Bernard, FFWD, FSOL, Pete Namlook, The Orb (especially
the newer releases), William Orbit, Seafeel, Sun Electric or Terre
Thaemlitz for instance.

Ethno - music from the different cultures around the world and
especially music by shamen or music aiming to a religious
or spiritual experience - shamanistic drumming, australian dijeridoo
sounds or chantings by gregorian or buddhist monks, for instance.
"Meditative music" compilations can be excellent.  There are huge volumes
of this sort of music published around the world.

Minimalism - especially Terry Riley. Steve Reich, Philip Glass
and Lamonte Young have all made "psychoacoustic music", to use a term
developed by Brian Eno for his own music.  Riley is especially- er..
"beyond words" - something unbelievalable. For connoisseurs.

Silence - either complete or 'The music of the Mother Nature' - best tripping
music for as long there has been humans around to trip.  The patter of
raindrops falling surpasses just about any music humans can come up with.
A must try.  Perfect.

.oOo. During the Voyage .oOo.

Once you are in the air it is relatively easy to forget that you can
alter the course of trip.  Visuals and thoughts come and go, and
everything follows some strangely familiar yet divine and unknown path.
So one is left gawking at all this jaw open, as if watching TV.  But
changing pathways is easy - provided you don't forget it is possible =)
Always decide and ponder what you want to see and where you want to go
before the experience. A shamanic voyage to the underworld is a snack,
as is seeing the future.  Usually every tripper forms his own way,
follows his own paths, be it for good or evil. _Anything_is_possible_!

And remember the immortal words of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
     _____     _    _  .  .   ___   __    . .  . .   _   ___    _____
    /     \   | \  / \ |\ | /  |   |  |  /| |\ | |  / \  \ /   /     \
   |  | |  |  |  )(   )| \|    |   |--' /-| | \| | (      V   |  | |  |
   | \___/ |  | /  \_/ |  |    |   |   /  | |  | |  \_/   o   | \___/ |
    \_____/   *******************  ********************  ***   \_____/

>>> A general topological examination of the scenery <<<

Minutes after ingestion:

0    Ignition

Usually the first effects of psiloc[ybin/in] are perceivable after ten or
twenty minutes. Funny or strange things may pop into your mind. One may
feel very relaxed or like jumping all over the place. Next you may feel
like you were blasting off, up towards the stars, rising high.
Chewing the mushrooms for about ten minutes in your mouth enables the
psilocybin and its analogues to enter the brain faster - if the
mushrooms are immediately swallowed, it may take as long as 1 hour for
the first effects to set in.

20   Acceleration

If you get any physical symptoms, this is when they will hit.  You can avoid
or at least reduce nausea by not eating very much before the trip and not
moving around too much during this phase.  Throwing up is uncommon but
not unheard of; having a barf bag around, especially on the first few
trips, is a good idea.  If you find that your body *really* doesn't like
shrooms, a motion sickness pill (Dramamine and similar anti-histamines)
beforehand may help.  But don't worry about it too much, even if you
feel queasy the nausea will end quite quickly.

40   Leaving the atmosphere

One will begin entering the realms of the experience; often the first
real signs are simple hallucinations with the eyes closed or in darkness,
little colored pixels floating around etc.  If one is going to go to the
toilet, it should be done now.

70   Flight

1 hour is usually sufficient for the more powerful effects to set in.
The body will feel heavy and drowsy.

130  Peak

After two hours the peak of the experience.  Often quite awesome.

300  Deceleration

By now one will again start to remember the concepts of normal reality
and may feel like getting something to drink and eat, or talk and do some
moving about.

360  Touchdown

After about six hours most of the effects have disappeared and sleeping
becomes possible.

12h  Reality

If you trip at night and fall asleep when the trip is ending, this is when
you'll wake up... and the odds are you'll feel GRRRRRREAT!

7d   Jet lag

Afterglow of the experience will persist anywhere from few days to
several weeks; what you've learned may change your life.  Occasionally
this learning will be negative and you'll be depressed for a while
as you assimilate the fact that you've been wrong about something for
all your life, but the depression is never extreme and - cheezy as it
may sound - you will be a much better person afterwards.

Surgeon General's Warning: One of the aftereffects of psilocybin (and most
all psychedelics for that matter) is "emotional fluctuation", ie. things
that would make you a bit happy cause euphoria and conversely things you
don't like cause depression.  At its worst this is a real manic-depressive
rollercoaster, but usually the fluctuations are more positive than
negative ("It's Monday morning and I feel GRRRRRRREAT!").  At any rate,
this rarely lasts longer than a day or two, so don't worry about it.

>>> Notes on physical interference <<<

In addition to the possible nausea in the beginning, which invariably
wears off by the time the hallucinations start, the mushrooms can
cause physical or psychosomatic interference.  You will feel odd, weird
and maybe scary physical sensations like liquid skin or distorted
body-proportions.  You may feel that you have trouble breathing; you may
feel that you've just pissed or shit in your pants; you may feel that
you're sinking into the ground or into yourself.  If you really start
worrying about this, you may start to feel like there are worms crawling
inside your stomach, that the roof is about to collapse on you, that the
sheet you are lying under is trying to eat you...

Don't panic!  First of all, 'serious' effects of this type are quite unusual,
but even if they do occur getting rid of them is usually easy.  Just
remember, nothing has really happened or is really happening, it's just your
mind exaggerating and creating things.  Learn to relax and distract your
thoughts on other tangents at moments like this.  A simple exercise you can
try to practice thought diversion, no drugs needed:

Lie on your bed in complete darkness, listening to suitable evil/freaky
music with headphones.  Skinny Puppy and ambient industrial are the
classic choices.  Meditate or just relax for a while.  Then, think about
something you have a phobia about: snakes, spiders, skeletons, rats,
tornados, earthquakes, even mushrooms.  Everybody has something they're
irrationally afraid of.  Staring at a picture of such a thing beforehand
may help.  At any rate, you will, in all likelihood, feel yourself to be
tipping over and falling uncontrollably.  Imagine that you're falling into
a bottomless pit filled with the nasty thing.  Visualize it.  Now attempt to
wrench your thoughts to something else.  If you can take half an hour of
this without ripping off the headphones, you're in good shape.

.oO The Eraserhead Syndrome Oo.

The mushrooms can be fun.  One may feel like eating them every day. A -
not cool, B - not good.  A mental/physical tolerance builds up quite
fast: usually three or four times with 7 day intervals cause diminished
effect and notably less divine trip.  I'd recommend visiting the
spiritworld 4 to 10 times a year, for the freshness and divinity of it.
Most of us know an acid- or pot-head - a drug abuser.  I call acid/
mushroomheads Eraserheads (seen the movie?), as they are often bit
paranoid and manic-depressive and dullheaded.  It's easy to get bad vibes
off the psilos - just do the mushrooms like you'd do alcohol - without
respect or any care.  So - remember what the foreword says, and use the
consciousness of turbocharged-monkeybrain we all have. And if you only
want to get your brain fucked up there are better substances for that
in the world.

Bad trip? What... hey waitaminute, I know - it's that oriental food with
rice and peaches and raw tuna innards - No???

Everyone gets anxious or bad feelings during their dives to the seas of
collective unconciousness.  It's normal, but the magnitude of baddies can
be decreased by paying attention to "set and setting." A friend or guide
can distract the attention of an tripper to a wholly different direction.
A change of room, place, music or lights often helps. Possible bodily
discomfort can be eliminated by learning relaxational techniques and
breathing exercises.  Keeping your body in good condition is not only
good for your trip, but also for your life.  Generally, it's good to try
to trip for living, not to live for tripping.

.oOo. Miscellaneous Questions .oOo.

Q:  Can black market 'shrooms be laced with LSD?

A:  Yes, very possibly, if the local market price for mushrooms is higher
    than that of LSD (as it usually is).  If the mushroom looks nothing
    like any of the common psychoactive species, or you are told that one
    or two small ones are enough to trip hard, odds are it's laced.
    Note that at least one dealer, fooled by the urban legend of LSD
    needing strychnine for binding to the paper, laced his LSD-shrooms
    with strychnine as well!  (PharmChem 1972, vol 1, #7)  Thus, either get
    your shrooms fresh from the fields (cheaper as well) or know what they
    look like and what the dosage is before buying.

Q:  What about Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric)?

A:  A. muscaria, the classic red toadstool with white warts on top,
    does not contain psilocybin, but a series of muscarinic deleriants.
    It's also poisonous (not very, but deaths are known) and in general
    rather nasty.  Avoid.

Q:  What happens if I combine 'shrooms and other drugs?

A:  Alcohol: Variable, usually takes the edge off since it helps you relax.
    Note that if you're drunk before you eat the shrooms, the mental
    effects of your drunkenness will disappear as the trip starts.
    Large amounts will increase the nausea in the beginning.

    Cannabis: Nearly always the experience is intensified/lengthened, but
    a few people claim it actually ends the trip.  Smoking is handy during
    the last few hours to extend the experience.

    MDMA/MDA: Known as an "MX-missile" (M as in mushrooms and X as in XTC),
    the experience is *highly* intensified and similar to LSD & MDMA
    ("candyflipping").

    Nicotine: Smoking feels good.

    Nitrous: Catapulted into outer space for a few minutes.

    Psychedelics: Cross-tolerance usually present, not much point in
    taking other psychedelics at the same time.

    Other: Unknown.

Q:  Shrooms grow all by themselves in nature in zarking cow shit, why is
    sterility so important when growing them yourself?

A:  In nature, there are 17 billion spores of all kinds of different shrooms
    flying around.  As people who've been to a cow pasture will know, most
    patties will not have Psilocybes, they'll either have something completely
    different or nothing at all.  But in a pasture, there's a lot of shit,
    and there's a lot of shrooms, so it's enough if 1/100 patties have the
    right kind.

    Now, when you're growing them at home, if you sprinkle spores in each dish
    and don't give a shit about sterility, you'll have natural conditions and
    maybe every hundredth jar will get the right shrooms.  Needless to say,
    this is not good, so you must push up the odds of the right shrooms
    growing by improving sterility.

.oOo. Further Reading .oOo.

I will not attempt a complete bibliography on the subject, but more
of a 'further reading'-sort of list.

Carlos Castaneda, Philip K. Dick, Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna,
Andrew Weil, Robert Anton Wilson and Aldous Huxley all make fine reading.
Peter Stafford's "Psychedelic Encyclopedia" is a classic, as is
"Plants of the Gods" by Richard Schultes and Albert Hofmann.
Umberto Eco has always been very good when talking about the mind,
almost as good as Herman Hesse.  And for some attitude - read Byron.

.oOo. References .oOo.

Apologies for not footnoting everything exactly, you'll just have to bounce
around checking the references (or ask us) if you want to know where a
specific bit of info comes from.

Benedict-R-G, Tyler-V-E, Watling-R. (1967)  "Blueing in Conocybe, Psilocybe,
  and a Stropharia Species and the Detection of Psilocybin."  Lloydia 30(2),
  150-157.

Benedict-R-G et al. (1962)  "Occurrence of Psilocybin and Psilocin in
  Certain Conocybe and Psilocybe Species."  Lloydia 25(3), 157-160.

Beug-M-W, Bigwood-J. (1982)  "Psilocybin and Psilocin Levels in Twenty Species
  From Seven Genera of Wild Mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A."
  J Ethnopharmacology 5, 271-285.

Bigwood-J, Beug-M-W. (1982)  "Variation of Psilocybin and Psilocin Levels
  With Repeated Flushed (Harvests) of Mature Sporocarps of Psilocybe
  cubensis (Earle) Singer."  J Ethnopharmacology 5, 287-291.

Catalfomo-P, Tyler-V-E. (1964)  "The Production of Psilocybin in
  Submerged Culture by Psilocybe cubensis."  Lloydia 27(1), 53-63.

Gartz-J. (1994)  "Extraction and Analysis of Indole Derivatives From Fungal
  Biomass".  J Basic Microbiology 34(1), 17-22.

Gartz-J. (1991)  "Influence of phosphate on fruiting and secondary metabolism
  of mycelia of Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe semilanceata and Gymnopilus
  purpuratus."  Zeitschrift fuer Mykologie 57(1), 149-154.

Gartz-J. (1989)  "Occurrence of Psilocybin, Psilocin and Baeocystin in
  Gymnopilus purpuratus."  Persoonia 14(1), 19-22.

Guzmßn-G, Ott-J. (1976)  "Description and Chemical Analysis of a New
  Species of Hallucinogenic Psilocybe From the Pacific Northwest."
  Mycologia 68, 1261-1267.

Guzmßn-G et al. (1976)  "Psychotropic Mycoflora of Washington, Idaho,
  Oregon, California and British Columbia."  Mycologia 68, 1267-1271.

H0iland-K. (1978)  "The genus Psilocybe in Norway."  Norwegian J Botany
  25(2), 111-122.

Jokiranta-J et al. (1984)  "Psilocybin in Finnish Psilocybe semilanceata."
  Planta Medica 51, 277-278.

Leung-A-Y, Paul-A-G. (1968)  "Baeocystin and Norbaeocystin: New Analogs
  of Psilocybin from Psilocybe baeocystis."  J Pharm Sci 57(10), 1667-1671.

Leung-A-Y, Smith-A-H, Paul-A-G. (1965)  "Production of Psilocybin in
  Psilocybe baeocystis Saprophytic Culture".  J Pharm Sci 54(11), 1576-1579.

Neal-J-M, Benedict-R-G, Brady-L-R. (1968)  "Interrelationship of Phosphate
  Nutrition, Nitrogen Metabolism and Accumulation of Key Secondary
  Metabolites in Saprophytic Cultures of Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe
  cyanescens and Panaeolus campanulatus."  J Pharm Sci 57(10), 1661-1667.

Ohenoja-E et al. (1987)  "The Occurrence of Psilocybin and Psilocin in Finnish
  Fungi".  J Natural Products 50(4), 741-744.

Pegler-D-N.  _Mushrooms Demystified._

Repke-D-B et al. (1977)  "Baeocystin in Psilocybe, Conocybe and Panaeolus".
  Lloydia 40(6), 566-578.

Singer-R, Smith-A-H. (1958)  "Mycological Investigations on Teonanßcatl,
  the Mexican Hallucinogenic Mushroom.  Part II: A Taxonomic Monograph of
  Psilocybe, Section Caerulescentes."  Mycologia 50, 263-303.

.oOo. Endnotes .oOo.

(K) Kopyleft Brahman Industries 1994-1995.  All rites reversed.

Please note that 'Nature's Perfect Entheogen' is a trademark of Mother
Nature Incorporated.
--                                                      __
Jani "Gnosis" PoijΣrvi      On the neverending quest   /(o\    BRAHMAN
[e-mail]  for knowledge by identity.  \o)/ [phone]