Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata
Summary:
Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata is undoubtedly the holy grail of psychedelic mushrooms in Pennsylvania. Potent wood lovers, these mushrooms can provide a bountiful harvest to dedicated foragers. There is a lot to love about these highly variable mushrooms.
What:
Potent psilocybin mushrooms with brown-white caps and beige-black gills. The durable, bright white, stipes with large fuzzy rhizomorphs at the base are hollow. Typically grows in large clusters but can sometime be found solo. The flesh will bruise blue when touched or otherwise damaged. Caps typically are 1/2"-2" in diameter however some will get 5" or larger. Spore prints tend to be dense black with purple undertones often visible on the caps of mushrooms in clusters.
When:
Most common in the spring can also be found during fall in smaller flushes. The spring season usually starts after the trees have leaves. The best time to look is after a heavy rain when temps are mild. Can be found almost year round even in winter and the heat of summer in tiny flushes.
Where:
Grows on decomposing wood most commonly found in manmade landscaping and woodchips near streams or rivers. Naturally fruits from wood and other debris in flood plains near rivers. The mycelium prefers the wood of the box elder maple tree and the litter created by the invasive Japanese knot weed. Can be found fruiting from logs, the mycelium typically grows on decaying wood under dirt or leaf litter often hidden from view by small plants and debris.
Variations
All mushrooms exhibit variations in each specimen due to factors such as genetics, substrate, weather, and location. Ovoids tend to be one of the most variable species of psilocybin mushrooms in the world which can lead to some confusion for new foragers. Some of the traits that can vary include size, color, potency, and shape. This can be one of the most exciting aspects of searching for these mushrooms because you never know what you are going to get. Some non scientific nomenclature for some common variants you are likely to encounter are:
Babies
Monsters
Thicc
Albinos
Nipples
Darkies
Lookalikes
Many species of mushrooms can be confused with psilocybe ovoideocystidiata some extremely poisonous and even potentially deadly. An amateur mycologist may misidentify these mushrooms especially if it is their first time encountering psilocybe ovoideocystidiata. It is imperative that even experienced mushroom pickers exercise extreme caution when harvesting any mushrooms, especially Little Brown Mushrooms because they are so easily mistaken. The most important check you can do in the field to insure you are not collecting lookalikes is to be familiar with your enemy. Lookalike mushrooms grow alongside wood lovers and for this reason you must make sure every mushroom you collect has a bluing reaction when bruised. You must check for this bluing before you collect the mushrooms because once they begin to dry it can be impossible to weed out the bad mushrooms. You will soon observe the the blue coloration can be transferred from the active mushrooms onto surfaces including other non active potentially deadly mushrooms. The most dangerous lookalikes you need to be aware of are Mushrooms in the galerina genus. Other common lookalikes include argocybes and practically any other LBMs. Familiarize yourself with these bad mushrooms before you get to know psilocybin mushrooms because you are certain to encounter them on your hunt.
Habitat Shots
Natural Habitats
Manmade Habitats
Indicator Plants
A common strategy for finding the correct habitat is too look for the indicator species that ovoids typically grow near.
Boxelder Maple Tree
Probably the most important, the Boxelder tree's wood is favored by the Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata mycelium. The Boxelder tree grows around rivers and makes helicopter seeds you probably played with as a child.
Japanese Knotweed
The Japanese knotweed is an invasive species similar to bamboo that grows around rivers and streams. The Japanese knotweed is know for bring especially hard to exterminate because of the way the chutes spread of underneath the soil. Thriving in low nutrient environments it often completely decimates native plants and takes over floodplains. The stalks of the knotweed create an excellent natural mulch that provides the voids a perfect habitat.
Stinging Nettle
The stinging nettle is a common plant that has hyperdermic needle like spikes that create a burning sensation. For some reason ovoideocystidiata tends to grow underneath them. If you encounter them growing under this plant I advise you to wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt.
Sustainable Harvesting
Sustainable harvesting is vital to ensuring your future harvests will be great for years to come.
There are a few rules of mushroom picking:
-Don't pull the mushrooms from the ground, use sharp scissors cut at the base.
-Do not disturb the mycelium, it can take years to establish patches so take care of them.
-Watch your step! It's easy to destroy pins and myc when you are trying to pick so be careful.
-Only pick mushrooms that are mature, do not pick pins because it disturbs their ability to spread spores.
-Use the old rotten mushrooms to seed new patches, you can also use stembutts.
-Be discrete the last thing you want is the neighborhood skateboard kids ripping your patches to death cause they saw you hunched over in the bushes
-Feed patches woodchips, and give them water to drink if you get a dry spell
-Make spore prints!
Edited by Shroomhunts (04/18/24 09:48 AM)
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Can’t wait until I’m finally able to post on a thread of confirmed finds! Thank You again for these insights!
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