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Magic mushrooms

Magic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. This last term does not account for the significance that these fungi have had in human history.

Magic mushrooms are fungi, found mainly in the genus Psilocybe (although there are also species that belong to the genera Conocybe, Stropharia, Panaeolus, and Copelandia). These belong to the Agaricaceae family and grow in a variety of substrates, among them cow dung and wood chips and bruise with a bluish color, often still visible on dried stems.

The major psychoactive compounds are the tryptamines psilocybin and the closely-related psilocin, although several species also contain baeocystin and norbaeocystin.

Examples of magic mushrooms are Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe cyanescens and (Psilocybe semilanceata) Liberty cap.