Journal topic
Magic Mushroom Names and Species Explained
Which names are scientific species, which are commercial labels, and what the records actually show. Each guide separates documented facts from stories and says what the sources cannot tell you.
Mushroom names mix four different things: scientific species names, older names, strain or cultivar labels, and nicknames. The guides in this topic keep them apart. Start with the species list, which says what kind of name each entry is and which record supports it, and the explainer on species, strains, varieties and cultivars.
Then there is one guide per species name, from Psilocybe cubensis and the liberty cap to Panaeolus cyanescens and the species described in 2026, each built on its taxonomic record. Further guides take the popular labels one at a time, such as Golden Teacher, Penis Envy, Albino Penis Envy, Amazonian, Blue Meanies and Tidal Wave, and say what the records can and cannot show. For the same names on a map and a timeline, see the species atlas.
None of these articles describes how to identify a wild mushroom. A name or a photo can’t show that a mushroom is safe.
Start here
A suggested reading order, from the basics to the deeper guides.
- Start with the basicsMagic mushroom species list: what each name refers to and what supports it
- NextMagic mushroom names: species, strain, variety, cultivar or just a label?
- NextPsilocybe cubensis: the species name, its history and what research covers
- NextGolden Teacher vs Penis Envy and other cubensis names: what can actually be compared?
- Go deeperHow to research magic mushroom origin stories: a reader’s guide
Every article in this topic
14 MIN READHow many psilocybin mushroom species are there? Why the counts run from about 45 to more than 300
How many psilocybin mushroom species are there? Counts run from about 45 chemically confirmed to 300-plus listed. Why Guzmán, Deconica and DNA studies differ.
15 MIN READThe laughing gym (Gymnopilus junonius): is it psychedelic? What lab and genome studies found
Is Gymnopilus junonius, the laughing gym, psychedelic? What psilocybin tests, gymnopilin studies and a 2020 DNA revision found, with dated Ontario records.
13 MIN READPsilocybe quebecensis: the psilocybin mushroom named from Quebec, and what became of the name
Psilocybe quebecensis was named from Quebec by Ola'h and Heim in 1967. What the name records say, how few specimens exist, and how DNA work changed the picture.
14 MIN READWhere do magic mushrooms grow in Canada? What the province-by-province records show
Where do magic mushrooms grow in Canada? Province-by-province GBIF and herbarium records, why BC dominates, what the data can’t show, and the poisoning risk.
12 MIN READAlbino Penis Envy: why a nearly white mushroom still turns blue
Albino Penis Envy is nearly white, yet it bruises blue. The blue is built from psilocin by two enzymes, not stored pigment. Here is what the evidence shows.
13 MIN READAmazonian mushrooms: why a geographic name is not proof of origin
Amazonian mushrooms is a name on material, not a species or proof of Amazon ancestry. What a dated 2022 competition entry shows, and what it cannot.
8 MIN READBlue Meanies mushroom: why the name can point to two different species
Blue Meanies mushroom is an ambiguous name: a common name for Panaeolus cyanescens, and a label on a sample assigned to Psilocybe cubensis. What records show.
14 MIN READGolden Teacher vs Penis Envy and other cubensis names: what can actually be compared?
Golden Teacher vs Penis Envy: what can be compared? The records behind each cubensis name differ in kind. What each supports, and what no record here shows.
13 MIN READGolden Teacher mushrooms: what the name and the research establish
Golden Teacher mushrooms are a label used for Psilocybe cubensis. What a 2025 DNA study, a 2023 genome study and later lab work show, and what they do not.
12 MIN READHow to research magic mushroom origin stories: a reader’s guide
Magic mushroom origin stories mix up who named a species, where a specimen was found and where a name spread. A guide to checking records, dates and credit.
15 MIN READMagic mushroom names: species, strain, variety, cultivar or just a label?
Magic mushroom names mix species, strain, variety, cultivar and commercial labels. See what each term means and what a name alone cannot prove about a mushroom.
12 MIN READMagic mushroom species list: what each name refers to and what supports it
A magic mushroom species list built from taxonomic records: for each name, the kind of name it is and the record behind it. It is not an exhaustive list.
12 MIN READMushroom potency claims: what laboratory studies of psilocybin content do and do not show
What does mushroom potency research show? How to read a lab result: units, sample identity, sampling, variability, and why a name is not a strength guide.
11 MIN READPanaeolus cyanescens: the Copelandia name and what “Blue Meanies” does not settle
Panaeolus cyanescens is the accepted name and Copelandia cyanescens a synonym. What the name records show, and why Blue Meanies is not a safe shorthand.
12 MIN READThe Penis Envy mushroom genome: what the name and the records show
Penis Envy mushroom genome records checked: the name is not a species, the label sits on one Psilocybe cubensis assembly, and what its accessions can show.
9 MIN READPsilocybe azurescens: the 1995 species record and the limits of the research
Psilocybe azurescens is a species name published by Stamets and Gartz in 1995. What its name and type records show, and what a name or a genome cannot tell you.
15 MIN READPsilocybe cubensis: the species name, its history and what research covers
Psilocybe cubensis is a species name, not a strain. Earle named it in 1906 and Singer moved it to Psilocybe in 1948. What taxonomy and research cover and don’t.
9 MIN READPsilocybe cyanescens: taxonomy, reference specimens and the naming confusion
Psilocybe cyanescens is a species named by Wakefield in 1946 and is not Panaeolus cyanescens. What the type and epitype records show, and what a name cannot.
9 MIN READPsilocybe mexicana: the name, its type record and the 1958 psilocybin papers
Psilocybe mexicana was named by Roger Heim in 1957 and appears in the 1958 psilocybin papers. What the records show, and why a “Mexicana” label proves little.
11 MIN READPsilocybe natalensis and P. ochraceocentrata: what the names and the evidence show
Psilocybe natalensis was named in 1995, P. ochraceocentrata in 2026. What each record shows, what a DNA paper said about one ‘Natal’ label, and what is open.
11 MIN READLiberty cap mushroom: the name, history and research of Psilocybe semilanceata
Liberty cap mushroom explained: how the name arose, the Psilocybe semilanceata naming record, a 1969 chemistry report and a 2025 genome paper, and their limits.
11 MIN READPsilocybe tampanensis: the 1978 original record, what sclerotia are and why the name confuses
Psilocybe tampanensis was named by Guzmán and Pollock in 1978 from a 1977 Florida collection. What the record shows, what sclerotia are, and why labels confuse.
13 MIN READTidal Wave mushrooms: what contest records document, and what they cannot show
Tidal Wave mushroom is a name found in contest records, not a species. What the Oakland Hyphae Cup tables list under that label, and what they cannot show.