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DH42
Local to somewhere


Registered: 10/05/20
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Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK 1
#27503539 - 10/13/21 06:59 PM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hi all
For the last two years I have been finding this mushroom in a specific area in Scotland. It was identified as being Psilocybe Fimetaria on two internet forums, which I believed. However, this year it has come to my attention that this mushroom does not fit one part of the characteristic of P.fimetaria as stated by Guzman and Stamets. This is that it ought to have a 'superior densely fibrillose to membranous annulus that develops from a thickly cortinate partial veil'. Furthermore, the one picture Stamets provides in his book 'Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World' does not look like the mushroom in question.
I recently posted on Mushroom Observer about these, and was told to check for a separable gelatinous elastic gill edge, the presence of which indicates P.Liniformans. I tested this today, and this feature was not found.

It's hard to take a picture of something that doesn't exist, but I had worked the needle from the top of the cap to the center-right, and you can see the cleanly broken gill edges. Distinct lack of gelatinous thread.
I am going to briefly give some of the characteristics/habitat of these mushrooms, and then show some photos that I took today. I should preface this with saying I am no more than an amature mycologist and have no relevant qualifications. I also have not actually measured the dimensions mentioned below, these are estimates. However, I am confident that they are on the whole quite accurate.
Cap: 2-6 cm broad, flatly convex to umbonate. Most specimens had an umbo, with varying proportions and levels of pointiness. White edge around bottom of the gill, maybe a millimeter thick max. Hygrophanous. Separable gelatinous pellicle.
Gills: I'm afraid I don't know the technical terms for describing gills. However, the spore print I took last year was dark purple and, as said above, there was definitely not a separable gill edge. I checked multiple mushrooms from different spots, not just the one pictured. I tried to get some good close-ups of the gills, so hopefully you will be able to get a look at them below.
Stem: Faint to distinct (sometimes slightly cracked) striations running the length of the stipe. Pale whitish to faint oaky brown. From 2cm high to 10cm. 1-5mm thickness. Partial veil on some specimens. No Annulus. Very rarely, some bluing at the base of stem, where the myselium webs begin. I documented one clear example of this last year. This year, I found what I believe to be very light bluing of the mycelium. It is pictured below, but it is up to you to decide if you think it qualifies. When looking at it in person it definitely jumped out as a speck of blue.
[Picture deleted for personal reasons]
Zoom in to just above the middle of the picture
Habitat: Found on decomposing cow dung. Often found with Psilocybe/Deconica Coprophila (More on them later). Fruits in habitats where P.semilanceata grows very strongly, and also fruits in the same conditions (sub-15 degrees Celsius, plenty of rain). Approximately 250 meters above sea level.









(Picture deleted for personal reasons)
(Picture deleted for personal reasons)

(Picture deleted for personal reasons)


The pictures above are of the principle mushroom I am talking about. However, I did stumble across something which was a bit different, and it didn't look at all like Deconica/Psilocybe Coprophilia, either. I'd be interested to hear what others think about this one.
(Picture deleted for personal reasons)

Picture deleted for personal reasons


Any ideas on this?
Ultimately, the primary aim of this post is to identify the mushroom in question (excluding the one at the end, that is). The lack of gill edge must rule out P.liniformans var. liniformans, but there is not annulus - so surely is not what Guzman and Stamets describe as P.fimetaria. The only close match for P.fimetaria I have heard of is P.subfimetaria, but from what Stamets says the differences are only that 'it tends not to be sharply papillate and has smaller spores'. Based on this, would this mushroom be a European variant of P.fimetaria, like happens with P.liniformans? Or, are these simply oddly shaped Coprophilia? I did consider Coprophilia, as they do grow in the same habitat as the mushrooms pictured, but one can usually differentiate them based on the stem and the cap. The cap tends to be more uniformly convex to pulvinate, the stem is straighter and there is often a lot of spider web like webbing connecting the base of the cap to the stem as it opens. Also, they go a deeper, more opaque colour of reddish brown when wet.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
-------------------- Have a look at the subreddit r/fimetaria!
Edited by DH42 (04/23/22 07:32 PM)
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jet li
The One



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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: DH42]
#27503541 - 10/13/21 07:03 PM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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Awesome yep found something similar on cow Pies fee years ago in Washington State, was so stoked to have found those. One of the rarest finds I've ever come upon. So cool.
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CoalMiner
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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: DH42]
#27503547 - 10/13/21 07:12 PM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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Maybe a Psilocybe semilanceata?
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: DH42]
#27503555 - 10/13/21 07:27 PM (2 years, 3 months ago) |
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Psilocybe fimetaria is likely. I wouldn't take too seriously what anyone says about this species, as the people who write about it haven't seen it very many times. Definitely should be studied.
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RenegadeMycologist
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said: Psilocybe fimetaria is likely. I wouldn't take too seriously what anyone says about this species, as the people who write about it haven't seen it very many times. Definitely should be studied.
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l e a r n i n g t h i n g s
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Duggstar



Registered: 01/20/09
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said: Psilocybe fimetaria is likely. I wouldn't take too seriously what anyone says about this species, as the people who write about it haven't seen it very many times. Definitely should be studied.
I agree.
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DH42
Local to somewhere



Registered: 10/05/20
Posts: 92
Loc: Scotland
Last seen: 2 days, 1 hour
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ITS came back as 100% match for P.fimetaria
-------------------- Have a look at the subreddit r/fimetaria!
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Anglerfish
hearing things



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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: DH42]
#27590853 - 12/22/21 03:48 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Congratulations! 
Very cool to know there is coming more data on these.
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★★★★★
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: DH42] 1
#27591187 - 12/22/21 08:34 PM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
DH42 said: ITS came back as 100% match for P.fimetaria 
Great work!
Don't forget to upload the sequence to Genbank to document its occurrence in Scotland.
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MysticMycologist
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Registered: 10/14/21
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You guys are doing tha lord’s work, documenting psilocybes around the globe. I love this place.
-------------------- Two eyes to look, One eye to see. Prying open my third eye 
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Blazer420
ŦøжїϿ ÐȐȜȧƜƐȓ


Registered: 06/13/09
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hell yeah great work!
-------------------- ~ I used to get high on life, until I realized life was cut with morons ~ * You need 2 wake up and smell the music! * -We are all computer data in a materialistic world- |Sometimes you have to lose yourself, to find anything|
 
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CHUCK.HNTR
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Registered: 09/30/19
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Re: Psilocybe Fimetaria in the UK [Re: Blazer420]
#27591608 - 12/23/21 08:49 AM (2 years, 1 month ago) |
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-------------------- "What is the practical application of a million universes?" -Alan Watts
   
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