Psilocybin-containingHymenogastraceaeUKEuropeNorth America
Psilocybe cyanescens
Wavy cap
Wood-chip species with a strongly wavy cap margin and dramatic blue bruising.
Regional status: Native to western North America; long naturalised across the UK and Europe
- Cap
- Caramel to chestnut brown, 2-5 cm, becoming strongly wavy at the margin, hygrophanic to pale buff.
- Gills
- Adnate, pale then dark purple-brown.
- Stem
- 30-80 mm, white, silky, no ring, bluing readily.
- Flesh
- White, instantly blue where cut.
- Spore print
- Dark purple-brown
- Habitat
- Wood chips, bark mulch and deciduous woody debris, often in landscaped beds.
- Distribution
- Pacific Northwest, western and central Europe, New Zealand.
- Season
- Late autumn after the first cold nights.
- Bruising
- Intense blue within seconds of handling.
- Odour
- Farinaceous.
- Potency
- Very potent
Key features
- ▪Wavy, undulating cap margin
- ▪Rapid strong blue bruising
- ▪Wood chips and mulch
Field tests
- Spore print must be dark purple-brown, never rusty
- Cut the stem and watch for blue within seconds
Edibility
Contains high levels of psilocybin and psilocin.
Warning
Galerina marginata fruits in the very same mulch and is lethal.
Photo and feature-based identification is probabilistic. Never consume a wild mushroom on the basis of an app result — confirm with an experienced mycologist.