guerrillamycology

Amanita phalloides growing under oaks in suburban Heidelberg, Melbourne.

Amanita phalloides has a generally greenish to yellow, although in some cases white cap - being variable, the cap colour is not a reliable feature to refer to. The stem and gills are white, the gill attachment being free. The base of the stem sits within the remnants of the universal veil, referred to as a volva. They are an ectomycorrhizal species growing in association with oak, and appear during Autumn into winter. They are widely distributed across Europe, but have been introduced to many parts of the world through the cultivation of various ornamental trees.

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This coming weekend, the first weekend of May 2026, Friday the 1st through Sunday the 3rd, I am speaking at Nimbin MardiGrass in the psychedelic tent run by

My first talk on the Friday night is a History of Magic Mushroom Cultivation.

On the Saturday I am giving a workshop on Psilocybe identification.

On the Sunday, a colleague and I are giving a basic lab style cultivation workshop, and later that day sitting in on a panel.

Australia has a fascinating array of Psilocybin-containing species, from wood-loving “subs” to the dung loving “Gold Tops” and “Blue Meanies”. These are also a number of other species of interest to both citizen science and academics. With the surge of academic research showing the medicinal benefits, there has also been a marked increase in people wanting to safely forage.

As with any type of foraging care needs to be taken to identify the correct species, and not pick any of the harmful lookalikes. This talk covers the species of interest, their taxonomy, their ecology, but also introduces potentially poisonous lookalikes often found in the same habitats.

The first three images provided are observations of Psilocybe subaeruginosa for 2024 from iNaturalist, with the matching temperature and rainfall for the main five clusters for each area. Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. The last two images are species distribution models for Psilocybe subaeruginosa, predicting where they occur in Australia and Aotearoa, and then globally. The green regions being the most likely areas they will be found. These images were prepared for my 2025 talk at the Garden States conference in December run by Entheogenesis Australis, and will be shared (along with others for respective species) in my identification talk in order to illustrate habitat and distribution.

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It's that time of year again! Psilocybe subaeruginosa, conspecific with Psilocybe cyanescens and Psilocybe azurescens. Small but beautiful specimens found in Clifton Hill, Victoria.

article: https://doubleblindmag.com/psilocybe-subaeruginosa/

https://doubleblindmag.com/mushrooms/types/flying-saucer-shrooms/

https://doubleblindmag.com/psilocybe-cyanescens/

resource: https://www.entheogenesis.org/reference-guide-for-psilocybe-subaeruginosa/

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The first weekend of May 2026, Fridaythe 1st through Sundaythe 3rd, I am speaking at Nimbin MardiGrass in the psychedelic tent run by

My first talk on the Friday night is a History of Magic Mushroom Cultivation. I am also doing a talk on fungi identification, basic lab style cultivation, and sitting in on a panel on the Sunday.

Magic Mushrooms have been cultivated since the late 1950s – for almost 70 years – by an impressive community of underground cultivators and researchers. In 1956, mycologist Dr. Roger Heim was gifted a spore print of (cue the nasal tones of Terence McKenna) “Stropharia cubensis” by Valentina and Gordon Wasson. The mushrooms Heim went on to cultivate in his laboratory were the first known indoor flush of “Gold Tops”; of course he sampled them, and two months later he was in Oaxaca with the Wassons foraging for more species…

The history of magic mushroom cultivation contains an array of remarkable individuals, intent on sharing the health and psychological benefits of these quirky fungi. Weaving narratives from an emerging self sufficient counter culture of the 60s, the amazon jungle in the 70s, through the counter cultural abyss of the Reagan years, into the psychedelic renaissance on the 90s and beyond, this talk covers the principal individuals and their contribution to a rich, and vibrant community of dedicated cultivators.

My talks will cover books by some of the classic cultivation innovators, Roger Heim, Oss & Oeric of .academy, Stephen Po***ck, Jeremy Bigwood, of , of , Professor Psilocybe Fanticus, and of course Virginia Haze and Dr Mandrake of

I will also mention a few other important cultivation books, by , , and

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I am speaking at Moorabool Fungi Festival at Bacchus Marsh this weekend, the 18th and 19th of April, run by .

On the Sunday, part of my 11am talk is speaking about these trees.

Also doing a Bioinformatics 101 talk on Saturday afternoon and an Advanced Cultivation workshop on Sunday afternoon loosely based around my book, Cultivation journal.

Say "Hi" if you see me.

This weekend I am speaking at the Garden States: Regeneration conference. Their first outdoor conference in eight years!

I will be speaking about the ecology of Australian Psilocybe, how citizen science is adding to our understanding of these species, and that by looking at the genus from a global perspective it helps us better understand species in a local context.

I will be speaking to the Sections present in Australia:

Section Subaeruginosae
Section Semilanceatae
Section Cordisporae
Section Zapotecorum
Section Mexicanae

Looking forward to giving this presentation in person out in the Australian bush amongst some incredible local and international speakers. Yes, I'm a little nervous!

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Mycelium! Its everywhere! All around us, fascilitating the slow decay of organic matter.

This was found on the fencing of a busy construction site.

Kinda feels like a cover to an Einstürzende Neubauten record.

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Clathrus ruber latticed stinkhorn. The vibrant red lattice bursting open. The spore mass heavily scented and attracting insects. These were found in suburban woodchips in early Melbourne Spring as temperatures start to warm up.

They are known as Latticed Stinkhorn, Basket Stinkhorn, or as the Red Cage.

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I am very proud to have been a part of this incredible book.  The sixth EGA Journal was created as part of celebrating 21 years of Entheogenesis Australis and the hard work it does promoting ethnobotanical research and supporting community. This has been published in the lead up to the Garden States 2025 4-day outdoor EGA conference. Website:

http://www.gardenstates.org

 

I'm so happy it turned out as beautifully as it has. Huge appreciation for the contributions of authors, artists, and the work of the rest of the production team. The cover art and botanical illustrations are by

With articles by Graham St John, Dr Nigel Strauss, Snu Voogelbreinder, Des Tramacchi, Adele Wilkes, Rak Razam and many others, this journal gives a fantastic multidisciplinary taster for Australia's deep appreciation for ethnobotany.

Including art by .ives .creations and others.

This is the fourth EGA publication in which I have played a significant role, and I am already looking forward to the next.

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I recently had the opportunity to spend a chilly Saturday morning with a group of .official in Mullum Mullum Creak Linear reserve.

Larger fungi were hard to find, and although we initially thought there was little to see, getting in amongst the grass revealed a veritable cacophony of tiny mushrooms.

Pictured are a little group of Mycena found en route to the meeting sites, the grass frosty, and air chilly. I hadn't led a group walk for a while, and it was fun to share my love and enthusiasm for fungi.

Thank you to the Urban Guerrila crew for inviting me.



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RIP Jonathan Ott. One of the leading authors in the field of ethnobotany and ethnomycology over the past 50 years.

I had the privilege of meeting Ott at in 2019. On the day after the conference finished, we got to chatting, and got to talking fungi - Psilocybe, of course! I was happy to hear that he agreed that many of Pacific North West Psilocybe were probably introduced, and in particular, agreed that Psilocybe cyanescens and Psilocybe azurescens were likely introduced from Australia.

It was an honour to meet him.

Rest in Peace.



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