Hello everyone and a sweet weekend.
I was busy the last week with sending sporeprints via Shroomery, so I really didn't have the time to post another of my lovely Psilocybes. Since you guys really dig outside shrooms, I think its time to share my ton of pics of the amazing Psilocybe Serbica (variety Arcana) which grows in our forest.
Psilocybe Serbica is a very special mushroom, since it is THE psychedelic mushroom of Central Europe. Yes, there is the "Liberty Cap", Psilocybe Semilanceata, too. However Semilanceata is present in almost all places on earth where there is no subtropical or freezing temps. Being more like "THE" Psilocybe mushroom rather than the typical European one.
Serbica is a very special mushroom due to its need for forest debris. It doesn't do to good or might not fruit at all on just wood chips. It needs tthe composted leaf, green and bark material on the surface of the forests ground.
The forest we have here is an ancient one known from the middle age and it has been ever since a place where there is not much forestry op. being done. So basically it has been and still is left as is. The amount of Serbica growing here is unbelieveable. I have been hunting Semilanceata all "for ages" (since 18yrs, now I'm 45), but with the Serbica crashing into my life two years ago, I really was blown away. But this is life- you are rewarded when you least expect it and when you certainly deserve it.
I can only wish you much fun with those pics.
I am working on uploading the videos I have, too to the HIVE video platform (Dtube, right?) atm. they are hosted at YT- https://www.youtube.com/user/Psilosemi/video
So here you go with 2018s pix. The year I first was blessed to find them. Or did they find me? :)
Interesting do they stain blue when you pick or cut them? If I saw these up here I would probably just class them as LBMs. Looks like they would be difficult to find in all the leaf debris.
The bluing reaction is Oxidisation of the psychedelic active alkaloid Psilocin. This species contains a lot of Psilocin (as well as the stable Psilocybin), so it does stain blue when touched, but also while getting old or being naturally damaged. Also the bluing is sometimes a more greenish tone and so the LBM is not so brown anymore :)
Its interesting some were growing out of branches too.
Actually the branches are the substrate or can be the substrate. There are lots of them coming out of big logs.
They are typically growing "in a row" because underneath the grass and moss is a buried log :)
Interesting it must be really broken down old wood.
I didn't realize that they are such a small mushroom.
Well, actually they are one of the bigger Pilos :)
And they can get quite huge depending on the patch they come from.