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Drunken mushroom (Psilocybe zapotecorum), photo
Photo
Psilocybe

Drunken mushroomPsilocybe zapotecorum

Cañadas · Holy mushroom

Psilocybe zapotecorum is a psychoactive mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae that contains psilocybin and bruises blue when damaged. It grows in cloud forests and has a history of ceremonial use in Mexico.[1][4][5]

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

  • Season in Mexico
  • HabitatCloud forests
  • FamilyHymenogastraceae

How do you identify Drunken mushroom?

Drunken mushroom (Psilocybe zapotecorum), features to identify it
Photo: Alan Rockefeller, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist (cropped) · Jalisco, Mexico
Photo
Drunken mushroom (Psilocybe zapotecorum), features to identify it
Photo: Cajá-manga, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
Cap
(2-)4-7(-11) cm across; conical, convex or bell-shaped; pale yellow to chocolate brown.[3]
Gills
Attached or notched at the stem; whitish brown to dark violet; whitish edges.[3]
Stem
(7-)10-18(-20) cm long by (0.5-)1-1.5(-2) cm thick; fibrous, with white scales toward the base.[3]
Veil and ring
White, thin, cobweb-like veil; sometimes leaves a fleeting ring.[3]
Blue bruising
Damaged areas show intense blue bruising.[4]
Smell
Mealy.[3]

What happens if someone eats Drunken mushroom?

Food use is discouraged: this psychoactive mushroom is subject to legal control. Misidentification can cause serious poisoning.[4][8][12]

Where and when does Drunken mushroom grow?

Cloud forests; fruits on landslides, clay ravines carved by water, and disturbed ground such as road cuts.[4]

The species has records from Mexico to Argentina. Documented records include Oaxaca.[3][5]

Baja CaliforniaBCSonoraSONChihuahuaCHHCoahuilaCOANuevo LeónNLBaja California SurBCSSinaloaSINDurangoDURZacatecasZACSan Luis PotosíSLPTamaulipasTAMNayaritNAYJaliscoJALAguascalientesAGSGuanajuatoGTOQuerétaroQROHidalgoHGOColimaCOLMichoacánMICEstado de MéxicoMEXCiudad de MéxicoCDMXTlaxcalaTLXVeracruzVERYucatánYUCGuerreroGROMorelosMORPueblaPUETabascoTABCampecheCAMQuintana RooROOOaxacaOAXChiapasCHP
States with records (1/32): Oaxaca

See the mushroom map

In Mexico, the Ley General de Salud lists psilocybin, psilocin and hallucinogenic mushrooms in Article 245, group I. Article 248 prohibits the acts listed in Article 247 for this group; Article 249 provides for authorization for scientific research. The 1971 UN Convention lists psilocybin and psilocin in Schedule I. Traditional ceremonial use is documented in Oaxaca.[12][13][5]

About the name

Gastón Guzmán's 2012 revision brought several previously described species together under the name Psilocybe zapotecorum.[16]

Fun facts

  • In a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, the species is called Ni'to be'ya.[5]
  • Psilocybe candidipes and Psilocybe aggericola appear as synonyms of P. zapotecorum in Gastón Guzmán's 2012 revision.[16]

Frequently asked questions

[2][5]

[4]

[4][8]

[12]

Sources

  1. Psilocybe zapotecorum R.Heim
  2. Cañadas (Psilocybe zapotecorum)
  3. New taxonomical and ethnomycological observations on Psilocybe s.s. from Mexico, Africa and Spain
  4. Cultivation, chemistry, and genome of Psilocybe zapotecorum
  5. Current use of holy mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe in a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico
  6. Psilocybe Mushroom Rituals
  7. Ethical Concerns about Psilocybin Intellectual Property
  8. Mushroom Poisoning
  9. The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin
  10. Human Hallucinogen Research: Guidelines for Safety
  11. Drug-drug interactions between psychiatric medications and MDMA or psilocybin: a systematic review
  12. Ley General de Salud
  13. Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971
  14. Galerina marginata
  15. Seven New Recorded Species in Five Genera of the Strophariaceae in Korea
  16. Psilocybe zapotecorum
  17. Riesgo de recolectar y consumir hongos silvestres
  18. ¿Qué es 9-1-1? Conoce más de #911Emergencias
  19. drunken mushroom (Psilocybe zapotecorum)

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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