Psilocybe cyanescens: A Mycologist’s Guide to Wavy Caps

Published on the DoubleBlind website: https://doubleblindmag.com/psilocybe-cyanescens/

“In 1942 mycologist Elise Wakefield published a description of a curious mushroom she had observed growing in London’s Kew Gardens. Due to its similarity to a species known from the United States, it was placed in the genus Psilocybe, with the binomial name Psilocybe cyanescens. Wakefield took note of the mushroom’s apparent bluing reaction at the time. Still, it would be another 20 years before the cause of the bruising in this species was identified—the oxidation of the compound psilocin. 

As conversations around magic mushrooms become more common and increasingly positive, there has been a growing interest in the number and variety of Psilocybe species. Of these, a few have always been iconic. Psilocybe cubensis aka “Gold Top,” Psilocybe semilanceata known as the “Liberty Cap,” and Psilocybe cyanescens the “Wavy cap,” so-called because of its distinguishing feature: a sinusoidal wavy top.”