| Psilocybe serbica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Psilocybe serbica var.arcana | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hymenogastraceae |
| Genus: | Psilocybe |
| Species: | P. serbica |
| Binomial name | |
| Psilocybe serbica | |
| Synonyms | |
Psilocybe bohemicaŠebek (1983) | |
| Psilocybe serbica | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 | Gills onhymenium |
  | Cap is convex or conical |
  | Hymenium is adnate or adnexed |
 | Stipe has acortina |
 | Spore print is blackish-brown to purple |
 | Ecology issaprotrophic |
 | Edibility ispsychoactive |
Psilocybe serbica is a species of mushroom in the familyHymenogastraceae. The mushroom contains the psychotropic compoundspsilocybin andpsilocin, and also related tryptamine alkaloidsbaeocystin,norbaeocystin, andaeruginascin.[1][2] It is closely related toPsilocybe aztecorum.[3] It was reported as new to science byMeinhard Moser andEgon Horak in 1969.[4]Molecular analysis published in 2010 has shown thatP. serbica is the same species asPsilocybe bohemica described by Šebek in 1983,[5]Psilocybe arcana described by Borovička and Hlaváček in 2001,[6] andPsilocybe moravica by Borovička in 2003.[7][8]Psilocybe serbica is common in Central Europe.
Psilocybe serbica has no specific smell (somewhat raddish, but never farinaceous), and the taste is usuallybitter. It is a very variable species.
Itscap is 1–4 cm (0.4–1.6 in) in diameter and obtuselyconical, later becomingcampanulate orconvex. It expands to broadly convex or plane in age and is incurved at first then plane or decurved with age. The cap is buff-brown to dingy orangish-brown and paleochraceous when dry. It is smooth,hygrophanous, and slightly translucent-striate when moist but not viscid and without a separable gelatinouspellicle. The flesh is whitish to cream-colored, bruising blue when injured.
Spores are purple-brown,ellipsoid, slightly flattened, and thick-walled, with a distinct germ pore. The size is very variable, mostly 10–13 × 6–7.5μm, but also much longer.
Thegills areadnate toadnexed and close, often distinctlysubdecurrent. They are initially light brown, becoming dark brown with age with a purple tint, the edges remaining paler.
Thestipe is 45–80 mm (1.8–3.1 in) long, and 2–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) thick. It has an equal structure, slightly enlarging at the base. It is whitish with a silky gloss andglabrous, or with some whitish remnants of the fibrilloseveil.[citation needed]
Psilocybe serbica is found growing mostly in groups, on well decayeddeciduous andconiferous wood, and alongUrtica spp. orRubus spp. on twigs, compost, plant residue inforests, usually in moist places along creeks, forest paths, and roadside verges. It is not reported to be synanthropic asPsilocybe cyanescens but rarely it may occur also on woodchips.[citation needed]
InPsilocybe serbica var.arcana, concentrations ofpsilocin andpsilocybin were in the range of 0.412–7.922 mg/g and 0.002–8.878 mg/g (dry weight), respectively. The concentrations of psilocin (0.027–2.485 mg/g) and psilocybin (1.553–15.543 mg/g) determined in var.bohemica were found significantly higher.[3] In this study, the concentration of 15.543 mg/g psilocybin in var.bohemica was the highest determined in the whole dataset andP. serbica is thus the most potentPsilocybe species in Europe.[citation needed]