How to identify Bohemian Psilocybe

To correctly identify Bohemian Psilocybe (Psilocybe bohemica), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   1.5-4 cm diameter, initially convex, becoming plane to umbonate; hygrophanous, yellow-brown to ochraceous.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to subdecurrent, crowded, grayish-brown to dark purple-brown.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   4-10 cm long, 2-5 mm thick, slender, whitish to yellowish, often with a fibrillose base.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, whitish to brownish, turning blue rapidly upon bruising or damage.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small to medium, collybioid stature with distinct bluing reactions.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, typically growing in clusters on wood chips, twigs, or disturbed soil rich in plant debris in deciduous forests or along streams.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, viscid when moist.

Growth Form

Cespitose (clumped) or gregarious.

Spore Print

Dark purple-brown to chocolate brown.

Body color

Yellow-brown to mahogany.

Odor

Farinaceous.

Flesh bruises

Distinctly blue.

Height

4-10 cm

Cap Diameter

1.5-4 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to subdecurrent.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, often flexuous.
• Stem surface: Fibrillose to squamulose.
• Ring: Often absent or represented by a faint, evanescent zone.
• Stem cross-section: Hollow center.

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