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New African Psilocybe Species Challenges Cattle-Origin Story for Magic Mushrooms

Genetic analyses of field and museum samples date its split from Psilocybe cubensis to roughly 1.5 million years.

A newly described African species in the magic mushroom family confirms its evolutionary origin. 'Psilocybe ochraceocentrata' is found growing on cattle dung in the grasslands of southern Africa and Zimbabwe.
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Overview

  • Researchers formally describe Psilocybe ochraceocentrata from grasslands in South Africa and Zimbabwe in Proceedings B.
  • Despite its similar appearance to Psilocybe cubensis, the new species shows distinct genetic, ecological, and chemical traits.
  • The findings challenge the view that European-introduced cattle brought P. cubensis to the Americas in the 1500s, suggesting the association formed later.
  • Popular cultivation strains known as 'NSS' (Natal super strength) and 'Transkei' are identified as P. ochraceocentrata rather than P. cubensis.
  • The team used multi-locus phylogenetics, molecular-clock dating, and niche modelling, and urges broader sampling of African fungi to refine Psilocybe evolution and dispersal.