SPECIES ATLAS · COMPARE
Psilocybe cubensis vs Psilocybe cyanescens
Two different scientific names that are often compared. “Cyanescens” is also the second word of an unrelated name, Panaeolus cyanescens, and the shared word does not make them synonyms.
A comparison of names and records, not an identification guide. No name, picture or description can show that a wild mushroom is safe, and poisonous mushrooms are mistaken for magic mushrooms. If someone may have eaten a wild mushroom, call a poison centre without waiting for symptoms: 1-844-POISON-X in most of Canada, 1-800-463-5060 in Quebec. Call 911 if they’re unconscious, not breathing or having a seizure.
Side by side.
| Psilocybe cubensis | Psilocybe cyanescens | |
|---|---|---|
| Genus | Psilocybe | Psilocybe |
| Named | (Earle) Singer, 1948 | Wakef., 1946 |
| First published as | Stropharia cubensis Earle (1906) | Its current name |
| Other names in the records | 10: Stropharia cubensis Earle (1906), Naematoloma caerulescens Pat. (1907) … | None listed |
| Type specimen from | Santiago de las Vegas, La Habana, Cuba; type collected by F. S. Earle on 19 June 1904 | England, Surrey, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Psilocybin record | confirmed (several modern analyses) | confirmed (several modern analyses) |
| Analyses on file | 4 | 4 |
| Analysed from | 1958 to 2025 | 2003 to 2026 |
| World records (GBIF) | 3,934 | 3,967 |
| Most records from | United States, Mexico, Colombia | United States, United Kingdom, Canada |
| Canadian records (GBIF) | 5GBIF held 5 Canadian records on 25 October 2026, all preserved specimens (3 British Columbia, 1 Ontario, 1 without a province). | 160GBIF held 160 Canadian records on 25 October 2026, 153 from British Columbia and 1 from Ontario (128 community observations, 32 preserved specimens). |
From the atlas records, last checked . GBIF counts are occurrence records, not a measure of how common a mushroom is.
The psilocybin record, analysis by analysis.
Every analysis the atlas could verify, oldest first, including results that found nothing. No amounts are given: they vary between collections, and this is not a potency comparison.
Psilocybe cubensis
- 1958
Reported Psilocybin isolated from cultures of Stropharia cubensis (Heim & Hofmann, Comptes rendus 247: 557), as cited in Guzmán 1983 Guzmán 1983, The Genus Psilocybe (Beih. Nova Hedwigia 74), archive.org scan
- 2022
Confirmed Psilocybin low or undetectable in most fungarium vouchers (one with psilocin); detected in cultivated mushrooms and mycelium Bradshaw et al. 2022, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 88: e01498-22
- 2022
Confirmed Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin detected in four collections Gotvaldová et al. 2022, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 23: 14068
- 2025
Confirmed Psilocybin and psilocin measured in cultivated strains confirmed by ITS, including strains labelled P. natalensis that sequenced as P. cubensis Cohen et al. 2025, Sci. Rep. 15: 13822
Psilocybe cyanescens
- 2003
Confirmed Psilocybin and psilocin detected in Czech material Stříbrný, Borovička & Sokol 2003, Soud. Lék. 48: 45-49 (Europe PMC record)
- 2022
Confirmed Psilocybin and psilocin detected in fungarium specimens, including decades-old ones Bradshaw et al. 2022, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 88: e01498-22
- 2022
Confirmed Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin detected in four European collections Gotvaldová et al. 2022, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 23: 14068
- 2026
Confirmed Psilocybin and psilocin quantified in indoor-cultivated material whose identity was checked by DNA testing Windsor et al. 2026, J. AOAC Int. 109: 37-50
What the records don’t show.
Psilocybe cubensis: Herbarium vouchers often show little or no psilocybin, and strain labels in commerce don't reliably match the species name.
Psilocybe cyanescens: Guzmán (1983) notes that the first American analysis filed under this name (Benedict et al. 1962) used a mixture of P. cyanescens and P. stuntzii, so early figures can't all be assigned to this species.