Psilocybe Azurescens: This Magic Mushroom is Stronger than What You’re Used To

Published on the DoubleBlind website: https://doubleblindmag.com/mushrooms/types/flying-saucer-shrooms/

“The most well-known of the Genus Psilocybe is Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer, a tropical/sub-tropical species which often grows in cow dung.  They have a thick stem, a broad brown/yellow cap, and a skirt-like annulus.  P. cubsensis are very easy to cultivate, and publicized most notably by Terrence McKenna and his “5 grams in silent darkness”, something you probably wouldn’t want to do with Psilocybe azurescens!

Psilocybe azurescens are often referred to by a variety of common names: Azzies, Astoriensis, Flying Saucers, Blue Runners, Blue Angels, or Indigo Psilocybe. With their caramel-colored caps, bright white stems, and broad umbo (the “nipple-like” structure in the center of the cap), Azurescens are quite distinctive in appearance, once you “get your eye in.”  To the untrained eye, many Psilocybes can look like any other LBM’s (little brown mushrooms) hiding amongst the undergrowth. The general advice is to know the features of the species you are looking for, but also the ones you are not. Members of the genus Galerina, for example, can be deadly, and many other lookalikes can be poisonous.”