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 psilocrosse
Space Ranger
Registered: 09/20/11
Posts: 44
Last seen: 11 years, 8 months
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 Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild 
#15110588 - 09/21/11 06:10 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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If I wanted to find Psilocybe Cyanescens truly growing I the wild where should I look?
My understanding is that they are particularly rare out in the bush and that I have a better chance of finding them in urban and suburban landscaping. While this might be true I would really like to find them growing as they would naturally.
Again, from what I understand, psilocybe cyanescens need lignin to grow. That is that need to grow on wood or something woodlike. Also from what I have read Paul Stamets seems to think that cyanescens started as a niche mushroom that grew exclusively(?) on pinecones.
So, with all that said, where would I expect to find psilocybe cyanescens outside of suburbia say in thestate of Washington. At what elevation? Under what kind of trees? And would they only be growing on pinecones or would they be growing on rotting logs or just coming up from the ground etc.
I am new to Washington state but I do quite a lot of hiking in the back country to include bushwacking off trail so I'm confident that if the cyanescens are out there I will evetually find them. That and I have joined a local mycological society which should help out eventually as well. In the mean time though any tips would be appreciated.
Edited by psilocrosse (09/21/11 07:18 AM)
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 AIRDOG
Registered: 10/16/99
Posts: 3,493
Loc: world's shroom capital
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: psilocrosse]
#15110703 - 09/21/11 07:23 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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mmhhh try disturbed habitats in the middle or edge of the woods, near rivers or creeks, dry river beds with lots of debris....
I really dont know but i think that would be a good place to start, Psilocybes thrive in manmade disturbance environments
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ehtdaedlufetarg
Toadstool Taxonomy
Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 2,076
Loc: Oregon
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: AIRDOG]
#15111038 - 09/21/11 09:40 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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You want habitats in Transition or Disturbed habitats. Borders of Forest and open areas, Riparian Zones and anywhere woody debris has gathered. Places where wood is blown down in windstorms, where woody debris gathers in a flood plain etc. are the places you should key in on. I'd stay as close to sea level as you can, low elevations host a lot of the prime areas to look in. Stay away from ridges, the mountains, dense confer forests and places where Cedar predominates. Psilocybes are saprophytes so they don't really grow under specific trees, but obviously hardwoods are the trees to look under. You will find the most hardwoods in low, flat places or along streams and rivers.
Your chances are best with woody debris being overgrown by herbaceous plants rather than logs or decomposing stumps etc. It happens though, like this one http://mushroomobserver.org/53776?q=7DhP
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HarryL
Squnä'am
Registered: 11/16/10
Posts: 8,070
Loc: Washington State
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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You will find them in towns and/or around humans... Not bark dust or bark mulch, but real wood chips... Find them in parks, people's yards, ect. Unless someone put spores out in the wild, as you mean, you will not find them there in Washington in my opinion. But rare to find them not associate with humans.
Stamets talked about finding them along logging road once. And suppose Hiking trails are possible if spores got stuck on someone's boots and they can find a good substrate. I put out some spores this year in some logged areas... Will see if anything comes of that or not.
There are other mushrooms you could hunt for though....
Is there a reason for the 'find in the wild'?
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Mushroom hunting: One bad mushroom can ruin your day! Know it or throw it.
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psylosymonreturns
aka Gym Sporrison
Registered: 10/16/09
Posts: 13,948
Loc: Mos Eisley,
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: HarryL] 1
#15111361 - 09/21/11 11:08 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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there was a gravel road punched into the forest by my old highschool. along the side of the road under the blackberry bushes and alders was my first experience with Psilocybe cyanescen . no wood chips but there musta been woody debris. this is the closest to a wild find ive ever made.
plus once in my friends old ass 100 year old house, the back yard was full of cyans, growing off chunks of wood and pieces of the old garage and under the japanese knotwood .
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NeoSporen
Antibiotic cream
Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 4,265
Loc: Graham, WA
Last seen: 3 months, 20 days
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I had a buddy come across a very small patch of wild cyans in a forest once. It was up in Whatcom County near a spot we all used rally in trucks when we were in high school. They were on a island in the Nooksack River, right below a really old, standing dead alder. I guess some wood peckers had been slaying the tree and made a huge layer of wood chips right at the base. It happens, but it's pretty rare to find them away from urban areas.
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Having lived through an existence close to nature, one accepts the small and simple things as most important in life. Sun, wind, rain and snow. The sounds birds make, smells of fresh wild flowers. Love of all kinds, from friends and family, thy self and our neighbors. Beautiful sunrises to the darkest clouds dancing above in the sky. To forgive, learn, share and express. This is the only thing a man such as myself can ask for. What comes as the result is nothing short of the core of human existence, to truly live free in body and mind.
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masspan
l'eclair
Registered: 07/26/08
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Loc: 
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: psilocrosse]
#15111572 - 09/21/11 11:51 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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if i was in an urban area somewhere in a major/minor city of Washington i would scope mulch beds and outskirts of inhabitated areas for habitat and weather, this is their 'wild' (by wild i assume you mean abundant), there's tons of good wild cyan info here for the OP
when hiking you will find all kinds of other things, but probably few cyans imo
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my mother said, to get things done, you'd better not mess with Major Tom...whose status is the baddest, everytime 'they' bless the apparatus
Edited by masspan (09/21/11 11:54 AM)
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ehtdaedlufetarg
Toadstool Taxonomy
Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 2,076
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 11 years, 8 days
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: HarryL]
#15112272 - 09/21/11 02:29 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
masspan said: (by wild i assume you mean abundant),
I don't think that assumption is correct..
Psylo, could they have been growing out of the blackberry debris itself, this happens.
Quote:
HarryL said:
You will find them in towns and/or around humans... Not bark dust or bark mulch, but real wood chips... Find them in parks, people's yards, ect. Unless someone put spores out in the wild, as you mean, you will not find them there in Washington in my opinion. But rare to find them not associate with humans.
Stamets talked about finding them along logging road once. And suppose Hiking trails are possible if spores got stuck on someone's boots and they can find a good substrate
You definitively can find cyans in the wild in OR and WA. Its not as rare as you seem to think. "wild" cyans are nearly as frequent as human associated ones if your within a couple miles of the coast. Spores are spread on air currents and many other ways other than being on someone's hiking boot, it can happen.
I think Bfoggs example is a pretty accurate representation of how it happens.. But the woodpecker could be a beaver, or a rotten maple that falls and crumbles etc.
Edited by ehtdaedlufetarg (09/21/11 02:30 PM)
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maynardjameskeenan
The white stipes
Registered: 11/11/10
Posts: 16,391
Loc: 'Merica
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I have also wonder if beaver habitat would be good for "wild" cyanescens? They do like hardwoods such as alder and what not. Do they chew wood into chips or do they eat it?
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May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be happy.
AMU Q&A
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Byrain
Registered: 01/07/10
Posts: 9,664
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Quote:
ehtdaedlufetarg said:
Stay away from ridges, the mountains, dense confer forests and places where Cedar predominates.
What do you mean by Cedar, Cedrus?
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NeoSporen
Antibiotic cream
Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 4,265
Loc: Graham, WA
Last seen: 3 months, 20 days
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: Byrain]
#15112522 - 09/21/11 03:17 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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He means cedar. Like western red cedar, yellow cedar, I would imagine that sequoia fall in this category along with cyprus trees. They don't like wood that has a ton of sap in it. You won't find wood lovers in cedar mulch/bark, but they will grow in pine and douglas fir chips. I would consider coastal finds in dune grass "wild", and may be their natural habitat, growing in grass along with beach wood that accumulates.
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Having lived through an existence close to nature, one accepts the small and simple things as most important in life. Sun, wind, rain and snow. The sounds birds make, smells of fresh wild flowers. Love of all kinds, from friends and family, thy self and our neighbors. Beautiful sunrises to the darkest clouds dancing above in the sky. To forgive, learn, share and express. This is the only thing a man such as myself can ask for. What comes as the result is nothing short of the core of human existence, to truly live free in body and mind.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,364
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: NeoSporen]
#15112596 - 09/21/11 03:32 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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I don't see how coastal dune grasses could be their natural habitat since the coastal dune grass is an invasive species recently introduced from Europe.
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NeoSporen
Antibiotic cream
Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 4,265
Loc: Graham, WA
Last seen: 3 months, 20 days
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I do agree that there are a few different species that were introduced here, but Elymus mollis is a native species. I'm just saying there could be a possibility that they grew in the grassy habitat before other species were introduced in the late 1800's and early 1900's. That doesn't seem too crazy.
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Having lived through an existence close to nature, one accepts the small and simple things as most important in life. Sun, wind, rain and snow. The sounds birds make, smells of fresh wild flowers. Love of all kinds, from friends and family, thy self and our neighbors. Beautiful sunrises to the darkest clouds dancing above in the sky. To forgive, learn, share and express. This is the only thing a man such as myself can ask for. What comes as the result is nothing short of the core of human existence, to truly live free in body and mind.
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Byrain
Registered: 01/07/10
Posts: 9,664
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: NeoSporen]
#15112646 - 09/21/11 03:45 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
bfogg8706 said:
He means cedar. Like western red cedar, yellow cedar, I would imagine that sequoia fall in this category along with cyprus trees. They don't like wood that has a ton of sap in it. You won't find wood lovers in cedar mulch/bark, but they will grow in pine and douglas fir chips. I would consider coastal finds in dune grass "wild", and may be their natural habitat, growing in grass along with beach wood that accumulates.
Common names confuse me...
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ehtdaedlufetarg
Toadstool Taxonomy
Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 2,076
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 11 years, 8 days
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I meant Thuja plicata. I understand Bryain, its confusing. What we call cedar is actually in the cypress family, whereas true Cedar, Cedrus sp., are in the Pine family and Native to mountainous areas in the Mediteranean and Himalayas. I'm pretty sure we call Thuja cedar because Cedar is a name given to many aromatic plants, like sage. There are many species of "sage" from multiple families and Genera.
I speak of coastal dune grass in the context of the question, as natural in the sense of not directly created by man.
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HarryL
Squnä'am
Registered: 11/16/10
Posts: 8,070
Loc: Washington State
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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I have not hunted them within a few miles of the coast, per se, but makes sense to me.
Not sure there is a lot of Oregon/Washington coast that is not associate with humans anymore but I have heard of them being near the coast. I have spent a lot if time hiking in oregon and Washington, never have seen them out away from people.
Good thread, again, this site is very educational.
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Mushroom hunting: One bad mushroom can ruin your day! Know it or throw it.
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psilocrosse
Space Ranger
Registered: 09/20/11
Posts: 44
Last seen: 11 years, 8 months
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: HarryL]
#15113371 - 09/21/11 06:39 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
HarryL said:Is there a reason for the 'find in the wild'?
I guess I just like hiking around in the woods. Also, I have a mind to help propogate them and I'd rather do that out in the boonies where kids wouldn't be so apt to run across them.
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jet li
The One
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 4,279
Loc: penis double yew
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: psilocrosse]
#15113938 - 09/21/11 08:22 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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The most natural places I've found cyans were in the leafy/woody debris filled/grassy soil under hazelnut trees, and even growing directly from alder branches (fallen/rotting), which I found quite odd and unbelievable even seeing it with my own eyes. It's not likely you'l find cyans growing wild, but it's definitely worth trying. I felt much more gratified finding them in those more wild environments than I feel finding them in planters, etc.
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ehtdaedlufetarg
Toadstool Taxonomy
Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 2,076
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 11 years, 8 days
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Re: Psilocybe Cyanescens in the Wild [Re: HarryL]
#15114200 - 09/21/11 09:18 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
HarryL said:
I have not hunted them within a few miles of the coast, per se, but makes sense to me.
Not sure there is a lot of Oregon/Washington coast that is not associate with humans anymore but I have heard of them being near the coast. I have spent a lot if time hiking in oregon and Washington, never have seen them out away from people.
Good thread, again, this site is very educational.
I agree the fact that people are in most places on the Coast befuddles the distinction. OR has a lot more Natural coastline, our 101 towns are almost all 26 miles apart and we are the only state with an entirely public coastline. I suppose that theory would be easy to check here. I imagine that you would see a dramatic increase in population around towns and state parks, the places inland hippies migrate to by the hundreds every day in the fall.
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StInvetroThomas
Damn straight I'm a hunter.
Registered: 04/29/02
Posts: 1,345
Loc: Estonia 
Last seen: 4 years, 6 months
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Quote:
maynardjameskeenan said:
I have also wonder if beaver habitat would be good for "wild" cyanescens? They do like hardwoods such as alder and what not. Do they chew wood into chips or do they eat it?
I have had a theory that in the old days cyans would have found beaver-made wood-chips quite attractive, last year I posted that someone should have a look at beaver populated areas near the coast in the PNW to see if they can find any. Yes beavers make chips, they eat wood also but always leave a bunch of chips lying around.
I would love to see someone on here find and photograph beaver cyans 
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"...I found dozens of single specimens. That's what I call hunting. There are only a few "good" hunters here, even now. You're certainly in that group. I would imagine if we hunted together we'd find our styles are similar."
- Mr. Mushrooms
RIP Matt, your friendship and your contributions to the world of fungi will be missed. Unfortunately we never got to hunt together.
St Thomas
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