Psilocybe moelleri Guzmán, Mycotaxon 7: 245. 1978

macroscopy:

Pileus 12-50 mm, convex to plano-convex, sometimes with small umbo, rarely slightly depressed around umbo, with deflexed to straight margin, slightly to distinctly hygrophanous, translucently striate at margin or not, when moist yellow brown to rather dark grey-brown (Mu. 7/6-7/8, 5/6-4, 3/3), often mottled with grey-brown spots on paler background, slightly to distinctly pallescent on drying to pale greyish-ochraceous or ochre-orange centre, strongly viscid with separable pellicle. Veil present in young stages as appendiculate, fibrillose patches at margin and fibrillose to membranous, pendant annulus on stipe. Lamellae, L = 16-30, l = (1-)3-7, moderately distant to rather crowded, broadly adnate, often slightly emarginate with decurrent tooth, segmentiform to (sub-)ventricose, marbled cream-coloured when young, purple grey-brown when mature (10 YR 7-6/2, 4-3/2, 7.5 YR 3/2-3) with pallid, often whitish, pruinose to fimbriate edge. Stipe 25-70 x 2-6 mm, cylindrical, often with broadened to subbulbous base, straight, whitish to pale yellow-ochre or pinkish-ochre, with thin, membranous, rarely fibrillose, pendant annulus just below the apex of stipe, finely pruinose above annulus, densely white fibrillose-striate to floccose below. Context yellow-brown to grey-brown in pileus, yellowish-ochre in stipe. Smell distinct, rather sweet to sweetish-aromatical, sometimes reminiscent of Cystoderma amianthinum. Taste mild. Spore print color very dark purplish brown to almost black (10 R 2.5/1).

microscopy:

Spores 13-17 x 8.5-11.0 x 7.5-9.5 µm, Q = 1.4-1.9, Qav = 1.5-1.7, hexagonal to somewhat ovoid in frontal view, Q = 1.6-2.0, Qav = 1.7-1.8, oblong in side-view; rather pale grey brown in water with thickened wall and large germ pore. Basidia 21-26 x 9.0-10.5 µm, 4-spored. Lamella edge sterile. Cheilocystidia 22.5-36.5 x 7.5-10(-14) µm, lageniform with 4.5-6.0 µm wide, blunt neck. Pleurocystidia absent. Pileipellis an up to 200 µm thick ixocutis of 3.0-6.0 µm wide, cylindrical, hyaline or pale yellow hyphae, embedded in a gelatinous matrix; subpellis a compact layer of radially arranged, cylindrical to slightly inflated elements, 15-55 x 4.0-8.0(-10) µm with yellow-brown, incrusted walls. Stipitipellis a cutis of narrow, cylindrical, 2.0-5.0 µm wide hyphae. Caulocystidia 15-60 x 3.0-7.0, subcylindrical to clavate, at apex of stipe only. Clamp-connections present in all tissues.

ecology:

Saprotrophic, gregarious on dung of cow in moist meadow (Lolio-Cynosuretum lotetosum uliginosi). Rare. June-Nov.

distribution:

Widespread, but rare or overlooked in Europe, North and South America.

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