Pileus 3-25 mm, hemispherical, conic-convex to convex, expanding to plano-convex or applanate, rarely with slightly depressed centre, or concave, sometimes with low, broad umbo, with deflexed then straight, finally sometimes reflexed margin, strongly hygrophanous, when moist translucently striate at margin or up to 1/2 of radius, dark reddish brown to yellow-brown (Mu. 5-7.5-10 YR 3-5/2-4; 7.5 YR 5-6/6), only slightly paler towards margin (7.5-10 YR 7/6; 10 YR 6/3), strongly pallescent on drying to pale reddish-yellow, pale ochre or sordid white (7.5-10 YR 7-8/4-8; 2.5 Y 8/2-4), dry to slightly viscid when moist, but pellicle never peeling off, in mature specimens, but sometimes slightly so in young specimens, dull, matt, glabrous when dry, without veil or with minute velar remnants when young, which quickly disappear with age, rarely with scattered fibrils of veil along margin when mature. Lamellae, L = 20-40, l = 3-5-7, moderately distant to rather crowded, broadly adnate, sometimes with short decurrent tooth, triangular, segmentiform to subventricose, up to 3 mm broad, sometimes slightly emarginate, at first ochre-yellow to pale brown (7.5 YR 6-7/4), finally brown to red-brown (10 YR 3-4/3; 7.5 YR 5-4/4, 3/2; 5 YR 3/4) with pruinose to fimbriate, slightly to distinctly paler edge. Stipe 10-30(-50) x (0.5-)1-2(-2.5) mm, cylindrical, straight or flexuous, sometimes tapering or slightly broadening at base, yellow to yellow-brown at apex (7.5 YR 6/8; 10 YR 7/8), darker below (2.5 YR 3/2-4-2.5/2; 7.5 YR 4/6), sometimes very dark (red) brown at base (2.5-7.5 YR 3/2-3; 10 YR 3/2-3, 2/2 towards base), apex finely pruinose, downwards finely to coarsely striate to more or less floccose with yellow-brown fibrils, rarely with a faint annuliform zone, with white to greyish basal mycelium. Context very thin, concolorous with surface, sometimes paler at centre of pileus. Smell indistinct to slightly farinaceous. Taste mild to farinaceous. Spore print color dark brown to dark red-brown (5-7.5 YR 3/2; 10 YR 2.5-3/2).

microscopy

Spores 6.0-8.5 x 4.0-5.5 x 4.0-5.0 µm, variable in shape, usually distinctly flattened, ellipsoid-oblong, ovoid to submitriform in frontal view, Qf = 1.3-1.5-1.7, narrowly to broadly ellipsoid-oblong, somewhat amygdaliform or fusiform in side view, Qs = 1.4-1.7-2.2, rarely almost papillate at apex, with large apical germ pore, thin-walled, yellow-brown to brown when observed in water or ammonia. Basidia 15.5-30 x 4.0-7.5, Q = 2.5-(3.1-4.0)-5.1, 4-spored, clamped. Lamella edge sterile. Cheilocystidia 23-45 x 3.5-10 µm, narrowly to broadly fusiform to irregularly lageniform with blunt, rounded, sometimes moliniform, 1.5-4.0 µm wide neck, thin-walled. Hymenophoral trama regular, made up of short, inflated elements, 15-75 x 4.0-20 µm. Pileipellis a dry cutis or an up to 50 µm thick ixocutis of narrow, cylindrical, 1.0-3.5 µm wide cylindrical hyphae sometimes embedded in a hyaline, gelatinous matrix, subpellis compact, made up of short, inflated elements, 10-60 x 5.0-15 µm. Pigment brown-yellow, membranal to incrusting in supra- and subpellis and upper part of pileitrama. Pileitrama regular, made up of cylindrical to inflated elements, 20-90(-120) x 4.0-20 µm. Stipitipellis a loose cutis of cylindrical, 2.0-5.0 µm wide hyphae with yellow-brown, incrusted walls. Caulocystidia scarce to abundant at apex of stipe, cylindrical to narrowly clavate or sublageniform, 15-70 x 2.0-6.0 µm, hyaline, thin-walled. Clamp-connections abundant, visible on many septa in all tissues studied.

Ecology:

single or in small groups, rarely in small bundles, on humus, dead grass remnants, straw, or very old dung in rather exposed, sun-lit, short grazed or short-cut meadows and road-sides, on sandy, peaty of loamy, neutral to slightly basic soils.

Distribution:

Widespread and probably rather common in Europe and North America.

Psilocybe subviscida var. velata Noordel. & Verduin, Persoonia 17: 256. 1999

macroscopy

Pileus 8-30 mm, conico-convex or convex with deflexed margin when young, quickly expanding with age to applanate, with or without very slight central depression, with straight to slightly or distinctly reflexed margin, hygrophanous, when moist translucently striate at margin, up to ½, (rarely more) of radius, deep red-brown (Mu. 5 YR 4-3/3-4; 7.5 YR 3/5, 4/4, 6/2) with paler margin (7.5 YR 5-6/6), pallescent on drying to sordid yellow-red (7.5-10 YR 8/4-6) or sordid white, subviscid to viscid, but pellicle not entirely peeling off, with abundant veil, usually in form of one or more concentric zones of minutely fibrillose patches, sometimes only appendiculate with small denticulate patches. Lamellae, L = 20-40, l = 3-7, moderately crowded, adnate with decurrent tooth, segmentiform to ventricose, red-brown finally with very dark red-brown with or without purple tinge (7.5 YR 6-5/4, finally 4-3/2-4), with white, fimbriate edge. Stipe 20-50 x 1-3 mm., cylindrical or with broadened apex, straight or flexuous, red-brown at apex, dark brown to blackish brown in lower part (apex 7.5 YR 7-5/6, lower part 7.5-5 YR 3/2-2.5/2), finely white fibrillose to finely floccose all over or in upper part only from velar remnants, some specimens also with conspicuous annuliform zone, which disappears with age; glabrescent with age, white tomentose at base. Context reddish yellow, more or less concolorous with surface. Smell indistinct. Taste slightly farinaceous or indistinct. Spore print dark chocolate brown.

microscopy

Spores 6.5-8.0(-9.0) x 4.0-5.5(-6.0) x 4.0-5.0(-5.5), average 7.2-7.6 x 4.5-4.7 x 4.8-6.2, ellipsoid to oblong in side-view, Qf = 1.4-1.6-2.0; ovoid to somewhat mitriform in frontal view, Qs = 1.3-1.5-1.7, slightly thick-walled, dark brown in water and ammonia, greyish brown in Congo-red, with large, apical germ-pore. Basidia 29-32 x 7.0-9.0 µm, 4-spored. Lamella edge sterile. Cheilocystidia 29-44 x 5.5-7.0 u, Q = 4.8-6.3-8.1, lageniform with long, narrow, 1.0-2.0 (-3.5) µm wide neck. Pleurocystidia absent. Pileipellis a 20-30 µm thick cutis of narrow, cylindrical, 1.5-4.0 u wide hyphae, subpellis hardly differentiated from pileitrama. Pileitrama regular, made up of cylindrical to inflated elements, 30-120 x 3.0-15 µm with brown, incrusting pigment. Clamp-connections present in all tissues, but not at all septa.
Ecology: Gregarious often in large group, sometimes fasciculate, on vegetal debris, wood-chips mixed with humus, straw, old dung mixed with straw, etc.

Distribution:

Widespread in Europe and North America.

comment