Psilocybe allenii

Borov., Rockefeller & P.G. Werner · Psilocybe sect. Cyanescens

Allen's psilocybe

High potency

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.

Photo: Alan Rockefeller, CC BY, source.

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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-equivalent	What to expect
Threshold	0.19–0.32 g	1.9–3.2 mg	Mild body load, slight colour and texture enhancement, mood shift.
Light	0.32–0.63 g	3.2–6.3 mg	Clear perceptual change. Surfaces breathe, emotions amplify, time distorts mildly.
Common	0.63–1.58 g	6.3–15.8 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

Compare every mushroom look-alike of Psilocybe allenii side by side, or read the full look-alikes guide.

Galerina marginataDeadly
Spore print: Rusty brown to ochre-brown

Cultivation

intermediate

As for cyanescens.

Cultivation guides

Medication interactions

These interactions come from psilocin itself, so they apply to every species; a more potent species means a larger dose of it. These medications are graded dangerous, caution, increases or not studied on Fungodex. Not listed here does not mean safe; check the full checker covers 24.

Sources

[1]Stamets, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (1996)

How we research this: sources, evidence grading, review and updates.