Psilocybe tampanensis is a very rare psychedelic mushroom

Psychedelic mushroom

Psilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being shrooms or magic mushrooms....

 whose only known natural specimen

Specimen

A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...

 was collected in the wild by Steven Pollock, near Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

 in 1977. All spore

Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...

s and cultivations of this species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 nowadays are originated from this only specimen. It has never again been seen in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 but a second sighting was reported from Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, however no culturable material was obtained. Psilocybe tampanensis forms psychoactive sclerotia that are known under the nickname Philosopher's stone.

Description

• The cap is 1 — 2.4 cm broad, convex, expanding in age to plane or umbilicate, smooth, not striate, ochraceous brown to straw brown to grey brown, buff to yellowish-grey when dry, slight bluish tones, hygrophanous
  Hygrophanous
  The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis to become more transparent when wet and opaque when dry....
  
  , and subviscid when wet.
• The gills are adnexed and brown to dark purple brown with lighter edges.
• The spores are purplish-brown in deposit and 8 — 10(12) x 6 — 8.8 µm,
• The stipe is 2 — 6 cm long, 1 — 2 mm thick, equal to enlarging near the base. The fibrils are near the apex. The partial veil is cortinate, soon disappearing, and does not usually leave an annular zone on the stipe. It is flesh whitish to yellowish, bruising blue when injured.
• The taste and odor are Farinaceous.
• Microscopic features: The pluerocystidia are absent. The cheilocystidia are 16 — 22 x 4 — 9 µm, lageniform, with a flexous thin neck, 2 — 3 µm thick, and irregularly branching infrequently.

Like some other grassland species such as Psilocybe semilanceata

Psilocybe semilanceata

Psilocybe semilanceata, commonly known as the liberty cap, is a psychedelic mushroom that contains the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and baeocystin. Of the world's psychoactive mushrooms, it is the most common in nature, and one of the most potent...

, and Conocybe cyanopus

Conocybe cyanopus

Conocybe cyanopus is a member of the genus Conocybe which contains the medicinal compound psilocybin. It is formerly known as Pholiotina cyanopoda, Conocybe cyanopoda, and Galerula cyanopus.-Description:...

, Psilocybe mexicana

Psilocybe mexicana

Psilocybe mexicana is a psychedelic mushroom. It is from this species that Dr. Albert Hofmann first isolated and named the active compounds, psilocybin and psilocin in 1958. It was first used by the early natives of Central America and North America over 2,000 years ago, known to theAztecs as...

, Psilocybe tampanensis may form sclerotia, a dormant form of the organism, which affords it some protection from wildfires and other natural disasters.

Effects

The taste is also very different from other psychedelic mushrooms: many find it somewhat tart but not as unpleasant as many other mushrooms. The taste of the sclerotia can be described as a nutty flavor followed by an aftertaste of sharp and long-lasting astringency. Effects are identical to those of other psychedelic mushrooms.