Deconica montana explained

Deconica montana, commonly known as the mountain moss Psilocybe, is a common species of mushroom that usually grows in mossy and montane regions around the world. The appearance is that of a typical "little brown mushroom" with a small, brown cap and a straight, thin stipe.

Taxonomy

Psilocybe montana was formerly the type species of the mushroom genus Psilocybe.^[1] Because it does not contain hallucinogenic tryptamine derivatives like psilocybin or psilocin,^{[2] [3]} it does not stain blue when handled, unlike other typical hallucinogenic members of this genus. Molecular studies in the late 2000s revealed that the genus was polyphyletic and consisted of two distinct clades separating the blueing species from the non-blueing species. Dividing the genus is problematic as the name Psilocybe was attached to P. montana and consequently to the non-blueing clade, leaving the hallucinogenic species without a generic name. Because the name is widely associated with the hallucinogenic species and considering the potential legal ramifications of changing their generic name, a proposal was made to conserve the name Psilocybe with P. semilanceata as the type. This left Deconica available as a name for the non-blueing species. The proposal was unanimously accepted by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi in 2009.

Description

The cap is 0.5–1.5 cm in diameter, initially convex in shape but flattening in age, sometimes with a broad umbo. The cap is moist, glabrous, hygrophanous, and has radial striations to the center; the color is reddish-brown^[4] to dark-brown. The gills are adnate to broadly adnate or sometimes very shortly decurrent, and of the same color as the cap. The stipe is 1.5–4 cm long, 1–2 mm thick, smooth, the same color as the cap, and brittle. Spores are typically 7.5–10 × 6–8 × 5–5.5 μm and ovate–lentiform in shape with a thickened wall.^[5] A large spored variety (spore dimensions of 8.5–11 × 6.0–8.5 × 5.0–7.0 μm), Psilocybe montana var. macrospora Noordel. & Verduin (1999), has also been reported from the Netherlands.^[6] The spore print is dark greyish brown.^[7]

It is listed as inedible,^[8] being too small to be of interest.

Habitat

Deconica montana is saprobic, possibly also parasitic. It is often associated with mosses such as Brachythecium albicans, B. mutabulum, Campylopus introflexus, Ceratodon purpureus, Dicranum scoparium, Eurhynchium hians, E. praelongum, E. speciosum, Rhacomitrium canescens, Pohlia species or Polytrichum piliferum.^[9] It is commonly found in exposed situations such as dune-meadows, heaths and tree-less tundra, and open Pinus forests, usually on nutrient-poor, well-drained soil.^[10]

Distribution

The species has a worldwide, almost cosmopolitan distribution and has been reported from a variety of regions in a wide range of climates, including:

• Britain (Thetford Forest)^[11]
• California, United States^[12]
• the Caribbean^[13]
• China (western Kunlun Mountains)^[14]
• Colombia (high plains of Guasca)^[15]
• Greenland^[16]
• Mexico^[17]
• Nepal^[18]
• Norway^[19]
• in alpine tundra^[20] as well as subalpine regions in Switzerland^[21]
• in the region formerly known as the USSR^[22]
• in the Venezuelan Andes^[2] and
• in moss at high elevations in Idaho and Montana^[5]
• in Arctic tundra.^[5]

They have also been reported growing in Chemnitz, Germany, on vegetation-covered flat roofs.^[23]

Further reading

• Stamets P. (1996). Psilocybin mushrooms of the world. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA, USA. 245 pp. (p. 132)

External links

• Index Fungorum synonyms
• California Fungi
• BioImages Photos from various angles
• Mushroom Observer Photos of various D. montana sightings

Notes and References

1. Singer, R. (1975). The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy. J. Cramer, Vaduz. 912 p.
2. Salazar . F. . Marcano . V. . Castellano . F. . Martinez . L. . Morales . A. . 1994 . Chemical and microstructural study of the genus Psilocybe (Agaricales) in the Venezuelan Andes: Part I. Psilocybe montana (Pers. ex Fr.) Kummer . Ernstia . 4 . 1–2. 11–19 .
3. Marcano, V. . Morales Méndez, A. . Castellano, F. . Salazar, F. J. . Martinez, L. . Occurrence of psilocybin and psilocin in Psilocybe pseudobullacea (Petch) Pegler from the Venezuelan Andes . . 43 . 2 . 157–9 . July 1994 . 7967656 . 10.1016/0378-8741(94)90013-2.
4. Book: Trudell. Steve. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Ammirati. Joe. Timber Press. 2009. 978-0-88192-935-5. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR. 208.
5. 3792745 . Miller . O. K. Jr. . Laursen . G. A. . Farr . D. F. . 1982 . Notes on Agaricales from Arctic Tundra in Alaska . . 74 . 4. 576–591 . 10.2307/3792745 .
6. Book: Bas, Cornelis . Flora agaricina Neerlandica: critical monographs on families of agarics and boleti occurring in the Netherlands . A.A. Balkema . Rotterdam . 1988 . 978-90-5410-492-6 .
7. Book: Gastón Guzmán . The genus Psilocybe: a systematic revision of the known species including the history, distribution and chemistry of the hallucinogenic species . J. Cramer . Berlin . 1983 . 978-3-7682-5474-8.
8. Book: Phillips, Roger . Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America . registration . 2010 . Firefly Books . Buffalo, NY . 978-1-55407-651-2 . 230.
9. Lamoure . D. . 1977 . Agaricales de la zone alpine. Psilocybe chionophila, sp. nov . Bull. Soc. Linn. Lyon . 46 . 213–217 .
10. Web site: Psilocybe montana page . www.entoloma.nl . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040530230811/http://www.entoloma.nl/html/psmontananed.html . 2004-05-30.
11. 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1953.tb05206.x . Parker-Rhodes . A. F. . 1953 . The Basidiomycetes of Thetford Chase. I. Correlation with age of plantation . . 52 . 1. 65–70 . free .
12. Web site: Wood . M. . Stevens . F. . California Fungi - Psilocybe .
13. 3761918 . Guzmán . G. . Tapia . F. . Ramírez-Guillén . F. . Baroni . T. J. . Lodge . D. J . Cantrell . S. A. . Nieves-Rivera . A. M. . 2003 . New species of Psilocybe in the Caribbean, with an emendation of P. guilartensis . . 95 . 6. 1171–1180 . 21149019 . 10.2307/3761918 .
14. Zang . M. . Xia . Y. . 1989 . Notes on the fungi from Western Kunlun Mountains China . . 11 . 4. 397–406 .
15. Nieves-Rivera . A. M. . Flores . Santos . Betancourt . C. . 1997 . Notes on the Agaricales of the high plains of Guasca, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia . . 19 . 1–2. 349–51 .
16. Lange, M. (1955). Macromycetes Part II, Greenland Agaricales. Meddel. Grønland. 147:1–69.
17. Guzman . G. . Varela . L. . Ortiz . J. P. . 1977 . The known non-hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe in Mexico . . 11 . 23–24 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120924083332/http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/883/88302005.pdf . 2012-09-24 .
18. Guzman . G. . Kasuya . T. . 2004 . The known species of Psilocybe (Basidiomycotina, Agaricales, Strophariaceae) in Nepal . . 45 . 4. 295–297 . 10.1007/s10267-004-0186-8. 84817545 .
19. Hoiland . K. . 1978 . The genus Psilocybe in Norway . . 25 . 2. 111–122.
20. Favre, J. (1955). Les champignons supérieurs de la zone alpine du Parc National Suisse. Vol. 5. Druck Ludin AG. Liestal, Switzerland. pp. 1–212.
21. Favre, J. (1960). Catalogue descriptif des champignons supérieurs de la zone subalpine du Parc National Suisse. Vol. 6. Druck Ludin AG. Liestal, Switzerland. pp. 323–610.
22. Urbonas . V. A. . 1978 . The taxonomy and range of fungi of the family Strophariaceae in the USSR. Part 3. The genus Psilocybe . Lietuvos TSR Mokslu Akademijos Darbai Serija C Biologijos Mokslai . 1 . 9–18 .
23. Berthold . S. . Otto . P. . 2005 . Studies of diversity and habitat preference of fungi and lichens on vegetation-covered flat roofs in Chemnitz (Saxony) . . 28 . 1. 37–47.