How to identify Dung-loving Psilocybe

To correctly identify Dung-loving Psilocybe (Psilocybe fimetaria), 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.

   1-3 cm in diameter, conical to campanulate, expanding to convex with age, often with a papilla. Color varies from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown when moist, fading to pale yellow or buff when dry (hygrophanous). Surface is smooth and viscid when moist, becoming dry and shiny. Margin is often striate when moist.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to adnexed, close, initially pale brown, becoming dark purplish-brown with white edges as spores mature.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   3-10 cm long, 1-3 mm thick, slender, cylindrical, often slightly thicker at the base. Whitish to yellowish-brown, often darkening towards the base. Smooth, sometimes with fine fibrils. A partial veil is present in young specimens, leaving a faint, ephemeral annular zone or no ring at all. Bruises blue, particularly towards the base.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, whitish, bruising blue, especially at the base of the stem.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small to medium-sized agaric with a conical to campanulate cap, slender stem, and dark spore print. Bruises blue when handled.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing gregariously or scattered on dung (especially horse and cow dung) in pastures, meadows, and grasslands.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, viscid when moist, shiny when dry

Growth Form

Gregarious or scattered

Spore Print

Dark purplish-brown

Body color

Yellowish-brown to reddish-brown (moist), pale yellow to buff (dry)

Odor

Farinaceous or indistinct

Flesh bruises

Blue, especially at the stem base

Height

3-10 cm

Cap Diameter

1-3 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to adnexed
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, sometimes slightly thicker at base
• Stem surface: Smooth, sometimes finely fibrillose
• Ring: Absent or ephemeral annular zone
• Stem cross-section: Hollow

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