Panaeolus is a cosmopolitan genus of agaric mushrooms which belongs to the Coprinaceae family. Thirteen species of Panaeolus contain the hallucinogen psilocybin including Panaeolus cyanescens, Panaeolus subbalteus, Panaeolus tropicalis, Panaeolus africanus, and Pan. cambodginiensis.
The genus Panaeolus may be subdivided into three distinct groups, as far as their psychodysleptic power is concerned: the psilocybian species, the latent psilocybian species and the non-psilocybian species.
The word Panaeolus is Greek for “all variegated”, referring to their gills that appear spotted, a phenomenon that occurs as the spore-producing cells on the gills ripen unevenly in patches. Panaeolus includes members of the Copelandia genus, composed of twelve mushroom species, all of which are known to contain the hallucinogens psilocin and psilocybin. Copelandia are described as tropical or semi-tropical Panaeoli that readily bruise blue, and include species such as bispora, cambodginiensis, cyanescens, and tropicalis. None of the mushrooms in Copelandia have a partial veil.
Because both genera present genetic closeness, they were merged making Panaeolus a major psilocybin mushroom type with over twenty psychoactive species. For taxonomic clarity, these genera or sub-genera, even if they were originally described otherwise, may be accurately represented under the epithet Panaeolus or Panaeolus-Copelandia.
Most species of Panaeolus are known to contain appreciable amounts 5-hydroxytryptophan, and its parent serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in our brains described to regulate mood like depression. Actually, in Samoan Pan. Cyan. is called the “spirit hat” or “the comedy house”, nick names that clearly express the euphoric effects one may feel upon ingestion.
In fact, Panaeolus cyanescens aka the Hawaiian Blue Meanie, has been investigated as a possible therapeutic for anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. To this day research continues, and the use of psychoactive substances to help in psychiatry is being explored.
These delicate yet highly adaptative fungi can be white, grey or tan, with long thin fragile stems, and usually hemispheric to bell-shaped caps. Found in the tropics and neo-tropics of both hemispheres where literature describes colourful accidental intoxications filtering sight through a green hue and turning walls into animated fractals. Fortunately, none have been proven to be poisonous.