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Niño de aguas (water child) (Psilocybe aztecorum), photo
Photo
Psilocybe

Niño de aguas (water child)Psilocybe aztecorum

Niñitos · Niño santo · Apipiltzin

Psilocybe aztecorum is a psilocybin-containing mushroom documented in the mountains of central Mexico. It grows on woody debris in meadows and open forests. Its identification and Nahua ceremonial history are central topics for understanding the species.[5][4]

Psychoactive: controlled substance in Mexico. For information only. Never eat a wild mushroom identified only from photos.

  • Season in Mexico
  • HabitatMountain meadows and forests
  • FamilyHymenogastraceae

How do you identify Niño de aguas (water child)?

Niño de aguas (water child) (Psilocybe aztecorum), features to identify it
Photo: Alan Rockefeller, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist (cropped) · Mexico, Mexico
Photo
Cap
Convex to bell-shaped, measuring 1.5–2 cm across.[5]
Stem
Slender and cylindrical.[5]
Overall shape
Small, narrow fruiting body.[4]
Blue bruising
The cap barely bruises blue: only the margin stains slightly green-blue. The stem stains blue-green irregularly. Identification requires checking several features.[6]
Microscopic features
Has pleurocystidia, cells on the gill faces, with long or beak-like necks. You need a microscope to examine this feature.[6]

What happens if someone eats Niño de aguas (water child)?

Classified as a controlled psychoactive mushroom. Ingestion involves psychological risks and identification hazards; avoid eating wild specimens.[10][18][15]

Where and when does Niño de aguas (water child) grow?

Decomposes woody debris in mountain meadows and open forests. It has been documented in environments with Pinus hartwegii.[5]

Guzmán's revision documents records in Estado de México and Tlaxcala. A mycological interview with Alan Rockefeller describes a broad North American distribution; assessing the worldwide range requires considering differences between taxonomic treatments.[3][20][1]

Baja CaliforniaBCSonoraSONChihuahuaCHHCoahuilaCOANuevo LeónNLBaja California SurBCSSinaloaSINDurangoDURZacatecasZACSan Luis PotosíSLPTamaulipasTAMNayaritNAYJaliscoJALAguascalientesAGSGuanajuatoGTOQuerétaroQROHidalgoHGOColimaCOLMichoacánMICEstado de MéxicoMEXCiudad de MéxicoCDMXTlaxcalaTLXVeracruzVERYucatánYUCGuerreroGROMorelosMORPueblaPUETabascoTABCampecheCAMQuintana RooROOOaxacaOAXChiapasCHP
States with records (2/32): Estado de México, Tlaxcala

See the mushroom map

History and traditional uses

Mexican sources document Nahua ceremonial use of P. aztecorum and the name apipiltzin. Mazatec history includes María Sabina in Huautla de Jiménez: Wasson joined a velada with her and published his account in Life in 1957. The UNAM source identifies P. caerulescens in that experience. Literature on Zapotec use highlights P. zapotecorum. Albert Hofmann isolated and synthesized the psychoactive compounds from P. mexicana material. Gastón Guzmán revised the description of P. aztecorum in 1978.[4][8][7][3]

In Mexico, Article 245, section I, of the Ley General de Salud lists psilocybin and hallucinogenic mushrooms. Article 248 prohibits the acts specified in Article 247 for this group; Article 249 provides for authorization for scientific research. The 1971 UN Convention places psilocybin and psilocin in Schedule I.[15][16]

About the name

GBIF places the species in Hymenogastraceae and lists Psilocybe quebecensis and P. aztecorum var. bonetii as synonyms. Historical publications may treat them separately.[1][3]

Fun facts

  • Roger Heim described the species under the name Psilocybe aztecorum in 1957.[9]
  • Wasson interpreted some figures on the Xochipilli sculpture as representations of P. aztecorum. This is an ethnomycological interpretation.[2][9]
  • In his 1978 revision, Guzmán reduced Psilocybe bonetii to a variety of P. aztecorum.[3]

Frequently asked questions

[5][10]

[10][18][15]

[6][18]

[15]

[8][4]

Sources

  1. Psilocybe aztecorum R.Heim — GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
  2. Psilocybe aztecorum (Psilocybe aztecorum) | ENALLTerm
  3. Variation, Distribution, Ethnomycological Data and Relationships of Psilocybe Aztecorum, A Mexican Hallucinogenic Mushroom
  4. New taxonomical and ethnomycological observations on Psilocybe s.s. from Mexico, Africa and Spain
  5. Psilocybe aztecorum (Tropical Fungi) · iNaturalist
  6. Three New Fungi from China: A Potentially Psychoactive Psilocybe and Two Deconica Species
  7. Los nombres zapotecos de los hongos
  8. Propuesta de un método para identificar y cuantificar psilocibina por cromatografía de gases acoplada a espectometría de masas
  9. Psilocybe aztecorum — Wikipedia
  10. Tripping on shrooms: What does the science tell us?
  11. Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety
  12. Harm reduction practises for users of psychedelic drugs: a scoping review
  13. Galerina marginata (MushroomExpert.Com)
  14. Amatoxins in wood-rotting Galerina marginata
  15. Ley General de Salud
  16. Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971
  17. ¿Qué es una emergencia?
  18. Mushroom poisoning: Don't invite "the death angel" to dinner
  19. Get help for a poisoning
  20. Alan Rockefeller Interview
  21. Indole Alkaloids from Psychoactive Mushrooms: Chemical and Pharmacological Potential as Psychotherapeutic Agents

Written with AI help from the cited sources. A second model checked every fact against those sources and removed what they did not support.

Image credits

Photos are under free licenses (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

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