Science

Why do magic mushrooms turn blue?

The chemistry of the bruise, worked out by a team in Jena, Germany.

It starts with damage

A cut, a squeeze or a bruise breaks open the mushroom’s cells, and two enzymes reach the psilocybin it stores.

Two enzymes, two steps

PsiP strips psilocybin’s phosphate, leaving psilocin. PsiL oxidizes psilocin, and the units bond into pairs and chains that give the blue.

No single blue molecule

The Jena team found a mixed set of linked psilocin units and wrote that “no single blue compound exists” in these mushrooms.

Blue is not strength

The pigment is made from psilocin, which is used up as the blue forms. A blue patch marks psilocin that has already become something else.

Why would a mushroom do it?

The leading idea is defence: the blue chains resemble tannin-like compounds that can harm insect guts. That has not been shown.

Colour is no safety test

Many other mushrooms bruise blue through unrelated chemistry, and some deadly look-alikes are small and brown. Colour can’t tell you what a mushroom is.

The full guide

The whole chemistry, sourced

Our guide covers the enzymes, the 2021 correction, blue boletes and what the colour can and can’t tell you.

Educational only. Pictures are Shroomverse AI illustrations and film stills.