Panaeolus

Panaeolus is a genus of small, black-spored, saprotrophic agarics. The word Panaeolus is Greek for "all variegated", alluding to the spotted gills of the mushrooms produced.

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Characteristics

These fungi are mostly dung and grassland species, some of which are quite common in Europe and North America. The gills of Panaeolus do not deliquesce as do the members of the related genus Coprinus. Members of Panaeolus can also be mistaken for Psathyrella, however the later genus are usually found growing on wood.

The gills of these mushrooms are black or grey and have a spotty, speckled or cloudy appearance, caused by the way that the dark spores ripen together in tiny patches on the gill surface; different patches darken at different times. Another character of the genus is that the spores are smooth. ^[1]

The closely related genus Panaeolina shares the spotted gills but they are dark brown (not black) and the spores are ornamented. This genus is sometimes treated as part of Panaeolus. ^[2]

Edibility

No members of Panaeolus are used for food, though some are used as a recreational drug. Thirteen [1] species of Panaeolus contain the hallucinogen psilocybin including Panaeolus cyanescens and Panaeolus subbalteatus. The bluing hallucinogenic members of this genus are sometimes segregated into a separate genus, Copelandia.

Several members of this genus are known to contain psilocin and psilocybin and it is suspected that a number of other members of this genus contain unidentified psychoactive compounds. [2] All members of this genus contain serotonin, urea, and tryptophan. ^[3]

Notable species

• Panaeolus acuminatus
• Panaeolus africanus
• Panaeolus bispora
• Panaeolus cambodginiensis
• Panaeolus castaneifolius
• Panaeolus cyanescens
• Panaeolus fimicola
• Panaeolus foenisecii (= Panaeolina foenisecii)
• Panaeolus papilionaceus var. papilionaceus
• Panaeolus papilionaceus var. parvisporus
• Panaeolus semiovatus var. phalaenarum (= Panaeolus antillarum)
• Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus
• Panaeolus subbalteatus
• Panaeolus tropicalis

References