Panaeolus sphinctrinus

Psilocybe Conocybe silineoides Panaeolus sphinctrinus Psilocybe aztecorum P. caerulescans P. mexicana Stropharia cubensis Fungus Psilocin, psilocybin... 

There are several related species of mushrooms that have hallucinogenic effects. Many are in the psilocybe genus, including Psilocybe aztecorum, P. caerulescans, and P. mexicana (Schultes and Hofman 1980, 1992). Other related species include Stropharia cubensis, Panaeolus sphinctrinus, and P. foenisecii (see table 9.1 and figure 9.3). 

Magic mushrooms belong to the genus Psilocybe, and include Psilocybe mexicana and hougshagenii, traditionally considered to be most important, and also Stropharia cubensis and Panaeolus sphinctrinus. These contain psilocybine and psilocine which mimic the action of serotonin. The Mazatec shaman, Maria Sabina, described the effects of the mushrooms as follows This is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby and invisible. And this is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where... 

While we are on the subject of botanical identities, we might mention the later work of Singer and Guzman, who in 1957 found several additional species of Psilocybe used. As noted before, Wasson disputes Puharich s assertion that Amanita muscaria is used at all by the Mexicans. It will be recalled that Panaeolus sphinctrinus was identified as one of the teonanacatl mushrooms by Schultes in 1938. Hallucinogenic activity was reported for a related species, Panaeolus papilionaceous, found in Oxford County, Maine. A note in Science reported that unsuspecting ingestion of this mushroom by two persons resulted in visual and hallucinatory effects comparable to hashish, opium, and "mescal." The mushroom was said to be "common on cultivated land."20 More... 

The next year Schultes began studies with Dr. Reko in northeastern Oaxaca among the Mazatec Indians. Soon the two heard reports about the existence of mushroom rites in and near the Oaxacan town of Huautla de Jimdnez. They collected specimens of Panaeolus sphinctrinus, which was alleged to be the mushroom chiefly used in the rites. They also collected specimens of Stropharia (or Psilocybe) cubensis, a mushroom of lesser importance according to the native Mazatecs. These specimens remained in the herbarium at Harvard. 

In 1939, these reports induced Schultes, in agreement with Linder s classification experiments, to publish as Panaeolus sphinctrinus (Fr.) Quel, the teonanacatl mushroom described in the Mexican literature from the 16th and 17th centuries. 

Panaeolusfoeniscecii, 38, 41-42 Panaeolus ovatus, 38, 84 Panaeolus papilionaceus, 37, 93 Panaeolus retirugis, 38, 41 Panaeolus semilanceatus, 16 Panaeolus sphinctrinus, 38... 

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