Psilocybe subcaerulipes

A species of Psilocybe

The fruit bodies of Psilocybe subcaerulipes have caps that are 2.5 to 6 cm (1.0 to 2.4 in) in diameter, initially conic or bell-shaped but expanding to become convex, then finally somewhat flattened in maturity. A well-defined umbo (a rounded elevation resembling a nipple) is typically present. The cap color is chestnut brown when wet, but the species is hygrophanous, and when dried, changes color to become a lighter shade of brown. As is characteristic of psilocybin-containing species, P. subcaerulipes stains blue where it has been bruised or injured. The cap margins of young specimens are usually curved inwards, and have irregular, wavy edges; young specimens may also have fragments of the partial veil hanging off the margin. The whitish partial veil is similar to those of the genus Cortinarius—cobwebby, and made of silky fibrils. When the cap expands and the veil rips, the fibrils remains briefly as an annular zone on the stem, before fading into nothing. The gills have an adnate or adnexed attachment to the stem, which later becomes seceding (pulled away from the stem). The gills are a grayish-orange color initially, later turning purple-brown with whitish edges. The stem is 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) long and 0.2 to 0.4 cm (0.1 to 0.2 in) thick, and has roughly the same width throughout its length, except for a widening at the base due to the whitish rhizomorphs present. Initially a whitish color, it matures to become yellowish, then brown or reddish brown. It may have white veil fragments attached to the lower two-thirds of its length, and has a pseudorhiza at the base.