Psilocybe mairei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Psilocybe mairei | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hymenogastraceae |
| Genus: | Psilocybe |
| Species: | P. mairei |
| Binomial name | |
| Psilocybe mairei Singer[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Hypholoma cyanescens Maire [3] (basionym) | |
Psilocybe mairei is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is found in Algeria and Morocco and contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin.[5] The oldest example of rock art suggesting use of psychedelic mushrooms might depict P. mairei. In 1992 the Italian ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini reported finding a painted mural from Tassili n'Ajjer in the Sahara desert in southeast Algeria, dated 7000 to 9000 BCE, portraying mushrooms[6] (later tentatively identified as P. mairei[7]).
The species was first described in 1928 by René Maire, collected in the Atlas Mountains above the city of Blida, Algeria under Atlas cedar, and given the name Hypholoma cyanescens.[3] In 1953, it was transferred to the genus Geophilia by Robert Kühner and Henri Romagnesi.[4] In 1973, Rolf Singer recognized it as a Psilocybe,[1] but the name Psilocybe cyanescens was an unavailable name, having been used to describe a different species in 1946. Hence, Singer provided a new species epithet, named in honor of the mycologist who originally described the species.