So-called magic mushrooms are known to have some sort of mind-expanding effect. There are also native psychoactive mushrooms, which include the following.

In a nutshell

  • most species are very small
  • the actual effect is uncertain
  • use is dangerous
  • Beware of confusion with toadstools

roof fungi

Blue-stemmed roof fungus (Pluteus cyanopus)

  • Size: up to 8 cm
  • Cap: up to 6 cm, brownish, darkens towards the middle
  • Lamellae: free, whitish when young, later brown-red
  • Stem: thin, light, whitish, gray, brownish,
  • Odor and taste: mild, pleasant
  • Location: dead hardwood, sawdust
  • Occurrence: very rare, summer to autumn
Source: Dan Molter, Pluteus cyanopus 54538, Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Grey-green roof fungus (Pluteus salicinus)

  • Size: up to 10 cm
  • Cap: up to 10 cm, all gray variants, silky, finely scaly
  • Lamellae: free, young white, later pink, with intermediate lamellae
  • Stem: thin, whitish to slightly bluish, fibrous
  • Odour: neutral or radish-like
  • Taste: mild
  • Location: psychoactive fungi on dead hardwood
  • Occurrence: spring to autumn
Source: Björn S… , Pluteus salicinus (44034782505), Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 2.0

fertilizerlings

Hanging dung plant (Panaeolus papilionaceus)

  • Cap: up to 3 cm, light brown, edge hung with remnants of vellum
  • Lamellae: attached, bulbous, first gray, then black
  • Stem: thin, colored like a hat, frosted
  • Odor: fungus
  • Taste: mild
  • Habitat: Native to meadows
  • Occurrence: common everywhere, growing gregarious, spring to late autumn
Source: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, Panaeolus sphinctrinus. (27370535105), Edited by Garden Dialogue, CC0 1.0

Dark-edged dung plant (Panaeolus cinctulu)

  • Size: 7 to 10 cm
  • Cap: up to 3 cm, brown, fading out from the middle
  • Lamellae: chocolate-brown to black, adnate, crowded
  • Stem: thin, brown, sometimes bluing when pressed
  • Odour: neutral or mealy
  • Taste: unpleasant, mild, mealy, dried also salty
  • Location: Meadows, parks, lawns, always in connection with grass
  • Occurrence: common, growing in tufts, late spring to autumn
Source: This image was created by user Sava Krstic (sava) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images. You can contact this user here. 2012-08-13 Panaeolus cinctulus (Bolton) Britzelm 248623, Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Dark manure (Panaeolus fimicola)

  • Size: 5 to 6 cm
  • Cap: up to 3 cm, dark brown with a lighter edge, fading with age or when dry
  • Lamellae: adnate, dark brown to blackish
  • Stem: thin, lighter than the cap, smooth
  • Odor and taste: neutral
  • Habitat: Meadows, parks, forests, also native to fertilized areas
  • Occurrence: spring to autumn
Source: Jerzy Opioła, Panaeolus fimicola G34 (3), Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Drip-edged dung plant (Panaeolus guttulatus)

  • Size: 6 to 7 cm
  • Cap: up to 6 cm, dark gray to brown
  • Lamellae: gray, whitish, attached, with intermediate lamellae
  • Stem: like a hat, longitudinally fibrous, thin
  • Smell and taste: insignificant
  • Habitat: Mixed forest, native of sandy soil
  • Occurrence: rare, spring to late autumn

Hay Dung (Panaeolina foenisecii)

  • Size: up to 8 cm
  • Cap: up to 3 cm, shades of brown, fading in the middle, very dark edge, first bell-shaped, later flattened
  • Lamellae: adnate, distant, brown to blackish
  • Stem: thin, dark in the lower part, getting lighter towards the top, hollow
  • Odour: spicy, mushroomy
  • Taste: variable, from neutral to bitter to mushroomy
  • Location: meadows, parks, gardens
  • Occurrence: spring to autumn
Source: natureluvr01, Panaeolus foenisecii (Haymakers mushroom) (7958493918), Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY 2.0

Long-stemmed dung plant (Panaeolus acuminatus)

  • Size: up to 8 cm
  • Cap: up to 3 cm, bell-shaped, shades of brown, fading
  • lamellae: attached, dark brown to blackish
  • Stem: thin, brown, serpentine, frosted, hollow
  • Odor and taste: neutral
  • Location: parks, pastures, grassy paths
  • Occurrence: rare, late summer to autumn
Source: This image was created by user Ron Pastorino (Ronpast) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images. You can contact this user here. 2014-02-11 Panaeolus acuminatus (Schaeff.) Quél 403609, Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Amanita

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

  • Size: up to 16 cm high
  • Cap: up to 18 cm wide, red, orange-red, with white flakes
  • lamellae: white, attached
  • Stem: white, tuber and ring also white, ring pendulous, striated
  • Odor and taste: pleasant mushroom-like, mild
  • Location: mixed forest, meadows, near spruce or birch
  • Distribution: common everywhere, summer and autumn

Notice: The fly agaric is probably the best-known toadstool in Germany.

Daffodil Amanita (Amanita gemmata)

  • Size: up to 14 cm
  • Cap: up to 15 cm, yellowish, fading with age, covered with small white flakes, ridged edge, moist and greasy, smooth
  • Lamellae: free, crowded, whitish
  • Stem: white, ring drooping and fleeting, with tuber
  • Odour: neutral
  • Taste: pleasant, mild, nutty
  • Location: Mixed forest, preferably under pines and spruces
  • Occurrence: common, spring to late autumn
Source: Björn S… , Gemmed Amanita - Amanita gemmata (38035058391), Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 2.0

Panther mushroom (Amanita pantherina)

  • Size: 12 to 16 cm high
  • Cap: up to 15 cm, different shades of brown, with white flakes, cap skin removable
  • lamellae: whitish, free
  • Stem: white, with fine scales, ring-shaped towards the tuber (mountaineer's sock), ring hanging, transient, not serrated
  • Habitat: Native to mixed forests, symbiotic fungus
  • Distribution: common, from spring to autumn
Source: Σ64, Amanita pantherina 19, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY 3.0

Notice: Panther mushrooms are very poisonous, fatalities are known.

More psychoactive mushrooms

Ringed flame (Gymnopilus junonius)

  • Size: up to 17 cm high
  • Cap: up to 20 cm, yellowish, orange, brown, felty or scaly, edge rolled up
  • Lamellae: pale yellowish to rusty brown, adnate, with intermediate lamellae
  • Stem: up to 15 cm,
  • Odour: mushroomy, woody
  • Taste: bitter
  • Location: psychoactive fungi on old, rotting deciduous and coniferous wood, also on sawdust
  • Occurrence: not rare, summer to autumn
Source: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, Laughing Jim (Gymnopilus junonius) (25965072857), Edited by Gartendialog, CC0 1.0

Blue Baldhead (Psilocybe cyanescens)

  • Size: 8 to 11 cm high
  • Cap: up to 4 cm, brownish, bleached when dry, greasy when moist, initially humped, later spreading, turning blue-green when injured
  • Lamellae: adnate, gray to brown, distant
  • Stem: thin, light brown, turning green-blue when pressed
  • Odor and taste: mild to musty
  • Habitat: Native to deciduous forests with calcareous soils, in moist gardens, always on dead wood
  • Occurrence: rare, late summer to late autumn
Source: Lukas from London, England, Psilocybe cyanescens (49053071791), Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 2.0

Green crack fungus (Inocybe aeruginascens)

  • Size: up to 7 cm
  • Cap: up to 7 cm, yellowish, greenish, brownish, wavy and cracked edge
  • Lamellae: Adnate, with intermediate lamellae, like hat color but lighter
  • Stem: slightly lighter than the cap or with a green-blue tinge, covered with granules
  • Odour: unpleasant, soapy
  • Taste: mild
  • Habitat: Parks, gardens, forests always in connection with trees, on moist, sandy soil
  • Occurrence: spring to summer

Green velvet cap (Conocybe aeruginosa)

  • Size: up to 5 cm
  • Cap: almost 2 cm, verdigris coloured, middle darker, edge serrated
  • Lamellae: attached, crowded, cinnamon brown
  • Stem: thin, light, smooth, brittle, hollow
  • Odour: fruity, fruity
  • Taste: mild
  • Habitat: Native to deciduous forests, also in gardens and parks, likes lime
  • Occurrence: rare, spring to late autumn
Source: This image was created by user Jacob Kalichman (Pulk) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
You can contact this user here. German | espanol | french | italiano | macedonian | മലയാളം | portugues | +/−, Conocybe aeruginosa (Romagn.) 928555, Edited by Gartendialog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Purple-brown ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea)

  • Size: 1 to 2 cm
  • Fruit body: dark, almost black, attached to cereal grains or grass seeds
  • Host plants: oats, barley, wheat, couch grass
  • Odor: negligible
  • Taste: mild
  • Distribution: found everywhere
Source: megachile, Claviceps purpurea 38021955, Edited by Gartendialog, CC0 1.0

Notice: Rare in modern cereal cultivation, but can still be found on grasses at the edge of fields.

frequently asked Questions

Why should one be careful when using it?

Firstly, there is always the risk of overdosing. On the other hand, it is difficult to identify psychoactive mushrooms correctly and native toadstools have far more dangerous effects, including death.

What groups of active ingredients do psychoactive mushrooms have?

There are mushrooms containing ibotenic acid (native toadstool species, daffodil amanita and panther mushrooms) and species containing alkaloids (ergot relatives). The largest group are the psilocybin-containing fungi, to which all other species presented belong.

How is the effect noticeable?

Hallucinations and perceptual disturbances can occur, both positive and negative feelings and memories can be triggered by psychoactive mushrooms. Physical symptoms include dizziness, nausea, increased heart rate, loss of appetite, muscle pain, but also muscle relaxation.

Are Magic Mushrooms Legal to Use?

According to the latest legislation, domestic psychoactive mushrooms fall under the Narcotics Act if they are species containing psilocybin. The possession and sale is therefore punishable.

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