Wild-collected Psilocybe Cyanescens (Oregon Wavy Cap) Spore Print

Psilocybe Cyanescens (Wavy Caps)

2 Spore Swabs from wild-collected Psilocybe Cyanescens (AKA Wavy Cap) mushrooms. Collected from the central Oregon Coast.

Origins:

Psilocybe Cyanescens, commonly known as the wavy cap or potent psilocybe, is a species of potent psychedelic mushroom. It belongs to the family Hymenogastraceae. Native to the Pacific Northwest of North America and can be found from Northern California to British Columbia.

P. cyanescens is a hardwood-loving species that grows today primarily on wood chips, especially in and along the perimeter of mulched plant beds in urban areas. It thrives outdoors where fruiting is dependent on a drop in temperature. In the San Francisco Bay Area, this means that fruiting typically occurs between late October and February, and fruiting in other areas generally occurs in fall, when temperatures are between 50-65 °F, It has been documented to fruit in Spring on the East Coast.

Characteristics:

Psilocybe cyanescens has a cap that is caramel to chestnut-brown when moist, fading to pale buff or slightly yellowish when dried. Caps generally measure from 1.5–5 cm (½" to 2") across and are normally distinctly wavy in maturity. The color of the pileus is rarely seen in mushrooms outside of the P. cyanescens species complex. Most parts of the mushroom, including the cap and gills can stain blue when touched or otherwise disturbed, due to the oxidation of psilocin.

P. cyanescens has elliptical spores which measure 9–12 x 5–8 µm. The holotype collection of the species from Kew Gardens featured no pleurocystidia, but common clavate-mucronate pleurocystidia characterized North American collections. However, pleurocystidia are present in the holotype collection (but not easy to observe since the hymenium is collapsed)

Cultivation:

Cultivating Psilocybe cyanescens is challenging indoors due to specific growth requirements. For outdoor cultivation in suitable climates, employ a common method using a bed of hardwood chips, preferably alder wood. Start the process indoors by transferring spores to agar, then introduce the spore-inoculated agar to hydrated woodchips. Once the woodchips are colonized, use them to inoculate an outdoor woodchip bed for continued cultivation.