Psilocybe allenii
Borov., Rockefeller & P.G. Werner · Psilocybe sect. Cyanescens
Allen's psilocybe
Described formally only in 2012, having been confused with P. cyanescens for decades. Nearly identical in habitat and potency; the reliable separator is the cap margin, which stays flat rather than becoming wavy.
1 deadly look-alike. Galerina marginata can be mistaken for this species and causes irreversible organ damage. How to tell them apart.
Potency
- Psilocybin
- 0.3–1.2% of dry weight
- Psilocin
- 0.1–0.4% of dry weight
- Total tryptamines
- 0.4–1.6%
- Relative to cubensis
- 1.59×
Assumed comparable to cyanescens; fewer assays exist because it was only recently separated.
Dose ranges for this species
| Tier | Dried | Psilocybin | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Threshold | 0.19–0.63 g | 1.9–6.3 mg | Mild body load, slight colour and texture enhancement, mood shift. |
| Light | 0.63–1.1 g | 6.3–11 mg | Clear perceptual change. Surfaces breathe, emotions amplify, time distorts mildly. |
| Common | 1.1–1.58 g | 11–15.8 mg | Full psychedelic effect. Strong visuals with eyes closed, altered thought, emotional intensity. |
| Strong | 1.58–3.15 g | 15.8–31.5 mg | Ordinary self-reference goes. Marked visual distortion, time stops behaving. |
| Heavy | 3.15 g and above | 31.5 mg and above | Complete disruption of the ordinary sense of being a person in a place. |
Scaled from the standard dried-cubensis tables by this species’ representative alkaloid content. Because that content varies between flushes, treat every figure as an estimate and start below it. Open the full calculator.
Identification
Easiest way to tell: As P. cyanescens but with a flat, even cap margin rather than a wavy one.
- Cap
- 2–9 cm, convex flattening to plane. Caramel brown drying pale. The margin stays even. It does not become wavy.
- Gills
- Adnate, pale becoming purple-brown.
- Stem
- 3–9 cm, white, fibrous, bruising blue, with conspicuous basal mycelium.
- Ring
- Absent.
- Flesh
- Bruises strongly blue.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown
- Bruising
- Strong blue
Habitat
- Substrate
- Wood chips, Landscaping mulch
- Regions
- Pacific coast of the United States, California to Washington
- Season
- September to January
Urban mulch beds, exactly as for cyanescens. The two occur together.
Look-alikes
Cultivation
Sources
- [1]Stamets, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (1996)