Magic mushrooms are endlessly fascinating. The enigma mushroom mutation is starkly white and shaped like a brain, and Jack Frost mushrooms are “freaks.” These new additions to the Shroom fam come by way of human intervention.
Home mycologists cross and isolate Psilocybe species before sharing them with the world. Observing endemic Psilocybe species previously unknown to the Western world is rarer, and it happened recently–twice.
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Mycologists celebrate new psilocybin discovery
Talan Moult, a self-taught mushroom enthusiast, stumbled upon one of the newly reported mushroom species in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa. The mushroom, now known as Psilocybe ingeli after the mountain range where it was found, has brown, thin stems and delicate, striated caps.
Daniella Mulder observed Psilocybe maluti growing from cow piles on her South African hobby farm. It is called koae-ea-lekhoaba by tribes in the highlands of Lesotho, called either the Besotho or Sotho people. Healers have utilized the mushroom in ceremony for generations.
Traditional preparation of the mushrooms includes steeping it in warm water with Boophone disticha, aka leshoma. The decoction is used to induce a trance-like state. These shrooms feature tougher cream-colored stems and elongated, pointed golden-brown caps.
Scientists rehydrated and studied dried specimens of both mushrooms to understand how they fit into the mycology world. Both came back as part of the Psilocybe genus. Researchers also sourced firsthand knowledge and experience about P. maluti from the Basotho healers and elders.
The Bantu-speaking people of Lesotho are known for animal husbandry in the high grasslands. It makes sense they’d be aware of a psychedelic mushroom growing from cow dung. Basothos observed crows pecking at the flesh, which earned its name koae (powdered tobacco) and lekhoaba (crow-like bird).
These species are new to Western mycology, and scientists dismantled their chemistry to understand where they fit into the Psilocybe genus.
Where do these mushrooms fit in?
P. ingeli proves closest in lineage to Psilocybe keralensis and silvatica. P. keralensis was first observed in Kerala, India, and has delicate stems with brown caps. This cap is more conical than P. ingeli. P. Silvatica has the same stem morphology and coloring with a flatter, wider cap.
Scientists found P. maluti most closely related to P. chuxiongensis. The relative was discovered in China and grows caps that look like golden pancakes with thick, lumpy, white stems. Though many laymens are surprised by new mushroom discoveries, African mycology is vastly unknown to Westerners.
Understanding what psychedelics are in the world and how indigenous people use them is the first step to unlocking their potential. The new mycological observations remind us that while at-home mushroom cultivations continue providing intriguing species like Hillbillies, there are still endemic shrooms left to learn about.
