close
Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep-Oct;116(5):821-834.
doi: 10.1080/00275514.2024.2363137. Epub 2024 Jul 2.

A description of two novel Psilocybe species from southern Africa and some notes on African traditional hallucinogenic mushroom use

Affiliations
Free article

A description of two novel Psilocybe species from southern Africa and some notes on African traditional hallucinogenic mushroom use

B van der Merwe et al. Mycologia. 2024 Sep-Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Two new Psilocybe species (Hymenogastraceae), P. ingeli and P. maluti, are described from southern Africa. Morphology and phylogeny were used to separate the two novel fungi from their closest relatives in the genus. Psilocybe ingeli was found fruiting on bovine manure-enriched grasslands in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa and differs from its closest relative P. keralensis and others in the internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, partial 28S nuc rDNA, and translation elongation factor 1-alpha regions, distribution, and having larger basidiospores. Similarly, P. maluti was collected from the Free State Province of South Africa and observed in the Kingdom of Lesotho, growing on bovine manure. A secotioid pileus, geographic distribution, and differences in the same DNA regions distinguish P. maluti from its closest relative P. chuxiongensis. Furthermore, the spore dispersal and traditional, spiritualistic use of P. maluti are discussed here.

Keywords: 2 new taxa; Psilocybe; South Africa; taxonomy; traditional use.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources