''Psilocybe alutacea'' is a species of

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

fungus in the family

Hymenogastraceae The Hymenogastraceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales with both agaric and false-truffle shaped fruitbodies. Formerly, prior to molecular analyses, the family was restricted to the false-truffle genera. The mushroom genus '' Psilo ...

. It was described in 2006 and is known from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is coprophilous, growing on animal dung. The fruitbodies have a small conical or convex

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, subdistant

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

with an

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' ...

attachment, a slender brown stipe and a faint blueing reaction to damage. As a blueing member of the genus ''

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Many species contain the Psychedelic drug, psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the ...

'' it contains the psychoactive compounds

psilocin Psilocin, also known as 4-hydroxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (4-HO-DMT), is a substituted tryptamine alkaloid and a serotonergic psychedelic. It is present in most psychedelic mushrooms together with its phosphorylated counterpart psilocy ...

and

psilocybin Psilocybin, also known as 4-phosphoryloxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (4-PO-DMT), is a natural product, naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid and Investigational New Drug, investigational drug found in more than List of psilocybin mushroom ...

Taxonomy and naming

''Psilocybe alutacea'' was described by Y.S. Chang and A.K. Mills in 2006. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was collected by Chang in 1990 in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and deposited at the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, with the accession number HO132672. The species was placed in the ''Psilocybe'' section Semilanceatae according to Gúzman due to macroscopic and microscopic similarities with ''

Psilocybe semilanceata ''Psilocybe semilanceata'', commonly known as the liberty cap, is a species of fungus which produces the psychoactive compounds psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin. It is both one of the most widely distributed psilocybin mushrooms in nature, ...

''; notably a faint blueing reaction to damage, conical cap shape, adnate gill attachment and elipsoid-oval spores.

Etymology

The ''alutacea''

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

refers to the colour of tanned leather. It comes from high soft leather, tanned with alum.

Description

The

is 10–13 mm in diameter, conical to convex in shape, somewhat sticky or tacky when moist,

hygrophanous The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue (especially the pileus surface) as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fr ...

(abruptly changing colour from wet to dry), smooth, radially striate at the edge, coloured leathery brown to

ochraceous Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

brown. The

are

, subdistant and greyish brown with white edges, sometimes unevenly coloured. The stipe is 25–46 mm x 1–2.5 mm, pale brown, cylindrical and stuffed. There is a blueing reaction to damage but it is faint and slow, only showing at the edges of the gills and occasionally on the stipe. The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

is purple-brown.

Microscopic characteristics

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

measure 11.7-15.8 (-16.7) x 7.9-9.2 μm and are ellipsoid with a distinct

germ pore A germ pore is a small pore in the outer wall of a fungal spore through which the germ tube exits upon germination. It can be wikt:apical, apical or eccentric in its location, and, on light microscopy, may be visualized as a lighter coloured are ...

Basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

are 25.8 - 34.2 x 9.2-12.1 μm, 4-spored, transparent,

clavate This glossary of entomology describes terms used in the formal study of insect species by entomology, entomologists. A–C A synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, toxic to vertebr ...

obovate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

Cheilocystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are oft ...

measure 22.5-35.9 (-44.2) x 5 - 10 μm, are transparent with long necks of 6.7-15 μm, simple, bifurcate or trifurcate (one, two or three prongs or forks).

Pleurocystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are oft ...

are rare, measure 17.5-30.4 x 4.6 - 10 μm and are lageniform (shaped like a bottle or flask) with long necks. Subhymenium is subcellular. Trama regular, pale brown in 5% KOH, with

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e measuring 3.3-15 μm. Epicutis is a layer of subgelatinised, encrusted hyphae with brown pigments, 2.5-5 μm broad.

Clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

s are present.

Distribution and habitat

Present in

and

. In

collections were made at Snug Falls Track,

Mount Field National Park Mount Field National Park is a national park in Tasmania, Australia, 64 km northwest of Hobart, Australia, Hobart. The landscape ranges from eucalyptus temperate rainforest to alpine moorland, rising to 1,434 metres (4,705 ft) at the ...

(Pandanus Walk) and Kermandie Falls (Upper Track). Found growing solitary to sub-gregarious on cow dung; also collected on horse and

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

dung. Sometimes in leaf litter or from soil in mossy areas.

Similar species

Members of the ''Psilocybe'' section Semilanceatae, genetically similar species and small brown corprophilous fungi. ''

'' is more umbonate and grows in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s and paddocks from decaying grass roots, not on animal dung. ''

Psilocybe fimetaria ''Psilocybe fimetaria'' is a dung-loving mushroom in the genus ''Psilocybe''. Along with '' Psilocybe fuscofulva'', it is one of two ''Psilocybe'' mushroom species that has been found to contain no detectable levels of the psychoactive tryptami ...

'' has a stipe that discolours yellow with handling or age, and is known from the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

region of the United States and Canada, Chile, Great Britain, and Europe. ''

Psilocybe liniformans ''Psilocybe liniformans'' is a mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is in the section Semilanceatae of ''Psilocybe''. Description The stipe of ''Psilocybe liniformans'' is 5.5-7.5 cm long. The cap is 4.5-7.5 cm wide. The latter is initia ...

'' has a convex to applanate cap, and is known from the Pacific Northwest and Chile. ''

Psilocybe pelliculosa ''Psilocybe pelliculosa'' is a species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, have a conical brownish cap up to in diameter atop a slender stem up to long. It has a white partial veil that does not leave a ...

'' is closely related with a similar appearance. It occurs predominantly in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada, where it grows in litter in

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous woods. '' Psilocybe tasmaniana'' is similar in its original description, distribution and corprophilous habit but microscopic features differ; pleurocystidia in that species are reportedly abundant, and fusiod-ventricose, with short necks. '' Deconica corprophila'' and similar ''

Deconica ''Deconica'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Strophariaceae. It was formerly considered synonym (taxonomy), synonymous with ''Psilocybe'' until molecular phylogenetics, molecular studies showed that genus to be polyphyletic, ma ...

'' species are close lookalikes but with subdecurrent gills and no blueing reaction. ''

Panaeolus ''Panaeolus'' is a genus of small, black-spored, saprotrophic agarics. The word ''Panaeolus'' is Greek for "all variegated", alluding to the spotted gills of the mushrooms produced. Characteristics These fungi are mostly dung and grassland ...

'' species' spores are brown, greyish or black, not purple-brown. '' Protostropharia semiglobata'' has a slippery glutinous stipe when wet and no blueing reaction.

References

External links

Some new species in the ''Strophariaceae'' (''Agaricales'') in Tasmania
PDF of the original description as published in '
Australian Mycologist
'', by Chang, Gates and Ratkowsky in 2006.
New Zealand records of this species
provided by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research.
Observations on iNaturalist

Observations on Mushroom Observer
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q105066196 alutacea Entheogens Fungi described in 2006 Fungi of Australia Fungi of New Zealand Psychedelic tryptamine carriers Psychoactive fungi Fungus species