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PSILOCYBE ALLENII

syn. Psilocybe cyanofriscosa
PSILOCYBE

Psilocybe allenii is a highly potent strain of magic mushroom growing naturally from California to British Columbia. Before it got officially described in 2012, this highly potent cubensis strain had been known for many years growing naturally around the Bay Area.

At the time, it was referred to by the mushroom community as Psilocybe cyanofriscosa. The provisional name not being grammatically correct Latin, scientist renamed it in honour or famous ethno-mycologist J.W. Allen.
Scientists said it was his enthusiasm, his persistence and his deep belief in this new specie, that motivated the detailed study and DNA sequencing that occurred. This is how the enigmatic Bay Area magic mushroom became Psilocybe allenii, in honour of John Allen.

Both the morphological and molecular features of the P. alennii  indicate its close relationship to the another magic mushroom, Psilocybe cyanescens; so much that even Psilocybe expert Guzman confused them and in some case, you can even find Psilocybe allenii wrongly featured in some photographs under the name of Psilocybe cyanescens aka Wavy Caps.
To help differentiate the both, we note that P. allenii rarely has a wavy cap like P.cyanescens, and is overall more slender, sightly darker and not as common in coastal dune grasses. Like many cubensis magic mushrooms, P. allenii is cold-resistant and a relatively easy grower that  fruits generously. For all theses reasons, P. allenii has become popular for indoor cultivation.

When Allen picked his first P. alennii in 1982 in Capitol Hill (Washington DC), little did he know that 30 years later, this specie would bear his name. Allen’s dedication and passion for magic mushrooms has greatly contributed to the myco-community. He documented a good variety of hallucinogenic species such as the Allen Strain, P. cambodginiensis, P. samuiensis. Today, these wild asian strains are engineering a new generation of super strains, if you’re curious, have a look at the Koh Samui Super Strain (KSSS).

Visual Description

• Cap: 1.5 - 9 cm broad. Hemispheric when young, broadly convex when mature, flattens in age, sometimes with slight depression at disk. Margin is straight, regular, sometimes slightly incurved, sometimes with radial striates. Margin is only rarely wavy in very mature specimens. Cap is hygrophanous, color will vary accordingly to humidity level: pale orange brown to caramel brown when moist, to yellowish- buff in drying. Surface is smooth, viscous, slippery when wet, making young specimen difficult to collect. • Gills: Attachment adnate to adnexed. Color is cream to pale gray brown, but become dark purple in maturity. • Stem: 4–9 cm long by 0.2–0.7 cm thick. Even, slightly thicker at base with thick white rhizomorphs. Color is white, yellowing in age, bruising blue when injured. Cortinate zone usually present • Spore print: dark brown with purplish shades • Microscopic features: 12.0–13.1 by 6.8–7.4µ • Taste and odor: farinaceous. Extra: It is closely related to Psilocybe cyanescens, from which it differs macroscopically by the lack of a wavy cap margin. Additional molecular studies published by Borovička and colleagues in 2015 identified P. azurescens, P. cyanescens, P. weraroa, P. cubensis, and P. serbica as closely related to P. allenii.

PSILOCYBE ALLENII Potency

Chemical analyses are not available, however, it is roughly equivalent in potency to P. cyanescens.

Habitat Origin

Pacific coast of western North America: from British Columbia, Canada to Los Angelos, California. Most collections have been found in the San Francisco Bay Area and Humboldt County (CA), frequently, within 10 miles of the ocean or bay, and 100 miles inland in California. Distribution known from California to Washington to British Columbia. Rumours say that in December, mushroom hunters drone about the Golden Gate park in San Francisco searching for these magical creatures.  

PSILOCYBE ALLENII Effects

Many describe P. allenii as a very potent specie with effects similar to P.cyanescens and P. azuresens . Effects include vibrations in the body and visual stimulation at small doses, intense hallucinations, distortion of time and space and synesthesiaat higher doses. Users report spiritual and personal awareness and an enhanced perspective of the world. It is said that Psilocybe allenii kicks in after 30-60 minutes, peaks within 90 minutes to 2 hours, and lasts for 3-8 hours. A study shows that the human brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip. According to Alan Rockefeller, the Golden Gate Park is the hub for this shroom and attracts many people in December.

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