We had the opportunity to visit Washington State and see some beautiful mushrooms in the wild.
It was a very interesting adventure and very rewarding as well as educational. We had a great tour guide, John Allen a.k.a.
mjshroomer, who has been picking mushrooms in WA for over 20 years. On the first day of hunting, our first stop was a church, where the sacred mushroom was growing on sacred grounds, I knew it was going to be a good day and a nice mushroom vibe after that. We found these growing among the alder mulch around the church.
These pics can give you some idea of the surrounding these mushrooms grow in. Within all the alder mulch, leaves, twigs, etc.. a nice little patchgrowing amongts some leaves, alder mulch and rhododendron bushes.(387K) A close up of some mature p. cyanescens with some young ones attached. (hi res pic 788k) the same mushroom cluster, camera backed out. (354K)
The next patch we found was growing among some large shrubs in the alder mulch. I doubt anybody would have known these
were there if it had not been for John's resourcefullness of walking for hours a day looking in places ppl wouln't think of.
We literally had to walk among some waste high bushes and move them aside to see them growing down underneith the bushes. These were the largest in size that we found of all the patches, they ranged from 4" to 6" in height, and had caps about 2-3" in diameter. Cluster of large p. cyans. Arent they beautiful. Cluster of large p. cyans-2nd pic
Well.. here is where the disappointment begins. Many of the patches we went to after this, during all the excitement I forgot to take pictures and even bring my camera. Yep.. I dropped the ball on that one. Thats ok.. gives me an excuse to go back to WA :)
One of the most interesting things I found, was that the deadly poisonous Galerina mushroom was growing right next to the p. cyans in almost every place we found them. What is even more frightening is they look pretty similiar. But dont let that scare you off from hunting them, you can tell them apart. And very distinctly upon a close inspection and taking your time to pick them. The p. cyans have a more caramel color cap, darker in color, and the stem of the p. cyans is always white, except around the base where the dirt is. Also the gills are much lighter and whiter in color then the galerinas. The galerina's always had a orangeish/brown color stem and veils, and the cap was orangeish brown as well. Once your out there picking them its easy to tell them apart if you have good eyesight and know what your looking for. If ever in doubt, also you can do a spore sample as the spores of the deadly galerina will be rusty as where the p. cyans will be purplish brown to black. Please be carefull and dont pick anything your unsure of, its just not worth dying over. As poisounous mushrooms such as the galerina can kill you within a few days of ingesting to many of them.
Ok.time to test yourself on some identification.
Below are some close ups of a p. cyan growing right next to the deadly galerina and some inky caps. There is only ONE p. cyan in these pictures.
The first 2 pictures will show top views, the 3rd pic will show the gills and stems of the mushrooms.
Then, the answer will be given in the following pics with a red arrrow pointing out the p. cyan.
Can you tell the difference?
Well.. how did you do? This picture was staged. Sorry.. once again during all the excitement I should have tooken some better pictures. But none the less in alder mulch, grass, everywhere the galerinas were very close by.
A few last notes on the p. cyans.
One thing we found depressing is the psilocybe mushrooms are on a big decline in the Seattle area. Most landscaping is no longer being done with alder mulch, but there using some kind of red ceder mulch instead, and the psilo's dont thrive in that.
The places you want to look are anywhere that looks like fresh alder mulch has been planted in the last year or two. We found them right around ppl houses and buildings, in road dividers, in grass near alder mulch, around school campuses.. all sorts of places. The largest patches were about 8X the size of that little patch by the church, but I forgot my camera in the car...DOH!!!! Here is a pic of a psilocybe baeocystis growing in the grass. I would have never known it was a beaocystis if mj had not told me.. just looked like another little brown mushroom to me.. and little brown mushrooms were EVERYWHERE !!!!
One of the nicest finds was a big beautiful patch of Amanita Muscarias. Take a look at this page.. these are so beautiful.
Provided you live in a country where its legal to grow these, ps. cyans grow on finch seed, you can use that as spawn to inoculate some alder wood chips and or sawdust. You can mix that in with some compost or straw even as shown in TMC, and case them with some good fertile soil. Planted in the spring or summer, given lots of water, in the fall when the rains come and the temps drop down to around 50-60f they should start fruiting for you. Its rare this mushroom can be grown indoors, but it has been done in a fridge from some pics I've seen of mj's. But the best bet is putting a patch outdoors.
As for the high.. well.. its extremely potent, but tends to be extremely "speedy" as well and gave me intense restlessness. I had a real hard time coming down and trying to sleep comfortably on this mushroom, and my muscles would ache from it. Its very visual when taken at least 3 dried grams, and at that dose.. hold on... because you'll be flying. I've talked with others that do not get this speeded out feeling from them,, and I've tripped with some friends that felt the same effects as me. Your mileage may very. Many ppl really love this mushroom. It was certainly very beautiful to see in nature, and its a very tough, strong mushroom. The stems are very thick and hold up quite well while picking them. And from what I understand its pretty easy to grow outdoors if you live in the right environment.
Provided you live in a country where its legal to grow psilocybe mushroosm, some tips for ps. cyanesens.
You dont need to make syringes from ps cyanescens, or inoculate grain as spawn. Prepare your alder wood, sterilize it. Preferable 4:1 alder sawdust to alder wood chips, small chips.
Only use a small amount to start with, say about 6 to 8 cups worth of alder wood.
Just scrape the spores directly on the the sterilized, moist wood. Incubate it, indoors at around 70f -75F. It will take a good 6-8 weeks for that wood to fully colonize.
Use that as more spawn to slowly start inoculating more larger volumes of wood for anther 2 months. Then plant your patch outdoors with more fresh alder wood. If you can get it planted outdoors by the end of April, you'll have good chances for it to fruit by fall. If not, they may not fruit until the following spring or fall.
ps. Cyanescens are slow growing. If you dont see germination, then lower the temps to about 55F for about 2 weeks. They are a temperate species so sometimes even to germinate they like the cold weather to begin with. After they start germinating and growing, you can bring the temps back up to around 70-75F to speed up the spawn run. But they still will only fruit outdoors when the climate is right, lots of rain and low temps between 45-60F. The outdoor beds are best made in the spring and they will fruit in the fall. The Ps. Cyanescens are a sister species to the ps. azurescens, (flying saucers) also noted as the most potent psilocybe on planet earth. Ps. Azurescens and Ps. Cyanescens can be treated the same way for producing outdoor beds.
Disclaimer: Psilocybe mushroom spores do not contain any active (scheduled)
drug, thus they are legal. The spores we sell
can produce mushroom fungi if you put them in the right growing conditions and
attempt to cultivate them. That mushroom fungi can potentially develop into
mushrooms if you continue to grow them in just the right conditions. In the U.S. it
is illegal to cultivate
psilocybe mushrooms, but it is not illegal to posess spores and research them
under a microscope.
Just because our spore supplier/grower lives where it is legal to grow psilocybe
mushrooms it is NOT our intention that you do so as well. Pictures are
provided for informational and reference purposes only. It is NOT The Hawks Eye
intent that you attempt to grow illegal (psilocybe) mushrooms.
We sell spores for microscopy and identification
purposes only. All information on this web site related to psilocbye mushrooms is
protected under freedom of speech and we do not condone you
partake in any illegal activities. What you do with the spores and information is
up to you, but we do not condone you do anything illegal if you decide
to purchase spores. Spores are sold for legal microscopy and identification
purposes only. Please check your local laws regarding spores before purchasing them
and most important, adhere to those local laws. Thank You.
All pictures from this website are property of The Hawks Eye and may not be used or published without our permission.Exception: Scans from books, (as indicated) if you use them, please give the authors credit. Thank you.
