In the early 1900s, these mushrooms were known as “the weed Panaeolus” as they were often found in beds of the commercially-grown, grocery-store ‘shroom Agaricus bisporus. Mushroom farmers had to separate them from edible mushrooms because of their intoxicating qualities.

Where to Find Panaeolus cinctulus

Panaeolus cinctulus (Panaeolus subbalteatus, Banded Mottlegill) is the most widely distributed psilocybin-containing fungus globally, found in all 50 states and most countries.

Spring, summer, and fall are the best opportunities to find the Banded Mottlegill in the wild, growing in areas also loved by P. semilanceata. First, search where horses reside – especially on left-out hay bales, grassy areas, dung, compost, or rotting hay. This ubiquitous fungi has a wide range and is especially common in California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Vermont.

Panaeolus cinctulus – Specifications

The cap of P. cinctulus is 4-5cm across when fully developed and ranges from cinnamon brown to orange cinnamon brown, fading to tan when drying. Gills are brownish and mottled, with the edges remaining white and then turning black when fully mature. When ripe, the stem is 50-60mm long and 2-4mm thick, brittle, fibrous, and hollow. The stipe sometimes bruises blue at the base but is often too dark to display any bluing familiar to psilocybin mushrooms.

Wild Foraging for P. cinctulus

Spring, summer, and fall are the best opportunities to find the Banded Mottlegill in the wild, growing in areas also loved by P. semilanceata. First, search where horses reside – especially on left-out hay bales, grassy areas, dung, compost, or rotting hay. This ubiquitous fungi has a wide range and is especially common in California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Vermont.

While hunting for wild mushrooms is a joy with no equal, we encourage you to exercise extreme caution and do your diligence. The saying goes, “All mushrooms are edible, but some only once.” Popular communal websites like Reddit and the Shroomery offer special forums where users can post pictures of the mushroom in question and get identification answers from experienced foragers and mycologists.

Panaeolus cinctulus Poisonous Look-alikes

Panaeolus cinctulus is a ‘little brown mushroom’ or LBM, one member of a vast group of lookalike species that are very easy to confuse with P. cinctulus (and many other cubensis). Some culinary species (such as Enokitake, and the honey mushroom [Armillaria mellea]) are LBM’s, but so are some poisonous species like the Deadly Galerina (Galerina marginata). 

The extreme toxicity of several Galerina species means that recognizing it is vital to mushroom hunters seeking Psilocybe mushrooms like Banded Mottlegill in the wild.. Galerinas may physically resemble P. cyanescens and other Psilocybe varieties and are known to grow amongst and around psilocybin mushrooms. Galerinas can (more or less) be distinguished from Psilocybe mushrooms by the following characteristics:

• Spore Print Color: Blackish-purple in Psilocybes, light/rusty brown in the Galerina
• Staining Reaction: Psilocybe fruiting bodies turn blue when bruised or handled while Galerina will not. Although one rare Galerina species has a blue-staining reaction, in most cases, the flesh will blacken when touched (this could be misinterpreted as a bluing reaction)

Disclaimer

We sell premium spore syringes made in sterile laboratory environments containing trillions of spores per syringe, suspended inside a 10cc syringe in pharmaceutical-grade distilled water (for research purposes only). All our syringes are made in a negative-pressure HEPA-filtered clean room. Cultivation of cubensis mushrooms is illegal in the United States of America. Psilocybin mushroom spores are legal in 47 of the 50 states, excluding California, Georgia, and Idaho.