Gymnopilus purpuratus

Gymnopilus purpuratus is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae.^[1] It grows in clusters on dead wood, tree stumps and wood chip mulch. It is widely distributed and has been recorded in Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand,^[2] the UK and Germany. It has a broadly convex cap covered in small dry reddish-brown scales, a stout yellow stem beneath reddish brown, wine-red to purple vertical fibres, and a thick rusty orange spore print. ^{[citation needed]}

The fruitbodies can stain greenish, blue and purple when damaged, and the species is psychoactive. A chemical analysis carried out by Jochen Gartz in 1993 found that this species contains 0.34% psilocybin, 0.29% psilocin and 0.05% baeocystin. ^{[citation needed]}

Gymnopilus purpuratus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hymenogastraceae
Genus:	Gymnopilus
Species:	G. purpuratus
Binomial name
Gymnopilus purpuratus (Cooke & Massee) Singer (1955)
Synonyms
Agaricus purpuratus Cooke & Massee (1890)[citation needed]

Description

Gymnopilus purpuratus Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex or umbonate
	Hymenium is adnate or adnexed
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is yellow-orange
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is psychoactive

The cap ranges from 1.5 to 6 cm across, is convex to obtuse, and is reddish brown with a dry scaly surface which is sometimes cracked in age. The stem is brown-red and covered by fibers and has blue-green spots where the stem is damaged. The gills are crowded, yellow to orange, and adnexed. The stem is dusted with rusty orange spores and has a cottony scanty partial veil.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of Gymnopilus species
• List of psilocybin mushrooms

References

^[1]

• Mushroom Observer: Name: Gymnopilus purpuratus (Cooke & Massee) Singer
• Hesler, L. R. (1969). North American species of Gymnopilus. New York: Hafner. 117 pp.

External links

Media related to Gymnopilus purpuratus at Wikimedia Commons

• Gymnopilus purpuratus chemical analysis
• Painting of Cooke's type specimen, Agaricus purpuratus, collected in Kew Gardens; in his Illustrations of British Fungi (Hymenomycetes), to serve as an atlas to the "Handbook of British Fungi", vol. 8 - Biodiversity Heritage Library