biology

Psilocybe aucklandiae

Psilocybe aucklandiae is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Psilocybe aucklandiae rather than just read about it. In short: Psilocybe aucklandiae is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The species is known from the Auckland Region of New Zealand, where it grows from clay soils in exotic pine plantations and native forests.

Key takeaways

Psilocybe aucklandiae belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Psilocybe aucklandiae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Psilocybe aucklandiae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Psilocybe aucklandiae is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. The species is known from the Auckland Region of New Zealand, where it grows from clay soils in exotic pine plantations and native forests. It is phylogenetically similar to or almost the same as Psilocybe zapotecorum from Mexico and South America. As a blueing member of the genus Psilocybe it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin.

Taxonomy Psilocybe aucklandiae was officially described in 1991 by Gastón Guzmán, Chris King and Victor Bandala in 'A new species of Psilocybe of section Zapotecorum from New Zealand.' The name is feminine; the original orthography is aucklandii which has a masculine suffix. The holotype is in New Zealand with accession PDD 57236 and was collected in the Waitakere Ranges while the isotype is in XAL, Mexico. The fungus is named for its limited geographic distribution, being almost entirely restricted to the Auckland Region, which includes the country's largest city of Auckland and is situated in the upper half of the North Island. At the time of publication it was known only from this area.

Description

The cap is 15–55 mm diam., broadly conic, expanding to broadly umbonate to more or less flattened, with edges becoming slightly upturned and often splitting; dry; lacking veil remnants; dark brown to yellow-brown, striate (radially lined) to edge, hygrophanous, drying to pale yellow-brown to straw-coloured; staining greenish-blue with damage or age; flesh white. The gills are adnate (broadly attached to the stem), close, greyish yellow-brown, maturing dark violaceous, with a conspicuous pale narrow margin. The stipe is 35-100 x 1.5–5 mm, cylindric, finely pruinose in the upper part and silky-fibrillose near the base, white, yellow or pinkish purple brown, with brownish flesh. Veil cortinoid and poorly developed, disappearing as caps mature. All parts staining deep greenish-blue or blackish-blue with damage. Spore print violet brown. Spores measure (6.5-)7-9.5 x 4–5.5 x 3.5-4.5 μm, 8.1 x 4.9 x 4.3 μm average, ovate in face view, elliptic-ovate in side view; brown-walled and smooth, 0.5 μm thick with apical pore; Basidia 20-28 x 4.5-6 μm, cylindric, with 4 spores, clamped; Cheilocystidia 15-32 x 4-8 μm, ventricose-rostrate (swollen and uneven with a beak), with long, tapering, flexuous and sometimes bifurcate neck (forked in two), transparent, thin-walled, up to 12 μm long; Pleurocystidia 13-19 x 4.5-6 μm, scattered, similar to cheilocystidia but with shorter neck, up to 4.5 μm.

Similar species Psilocybe zapotecorum in Mexico and South America, as noted by Guzman et al. (1991), "P. aucklandii is very similar to P. zapotecorum R. Heim emend. Guzman, which is common in Mexico and known from South America. The two species are barely distinguishable microscopically, although comparison with published descriptions (Guzman 1983) show that P. aucklandii may have slightly narrower pleurocystidia and slightly wider spores. Published illustrations of P. zapotecorum (Guzman 1983) appear to show that P. aucklandii is a less robust species."

Distribution and habitat On soil and litter, especially clay soils, in native forests and pine plantations, almost always in the wider Auckland Region. Commonly found in the exotic pine plantation of Riverhead. Has been recorded from Waipoua in Northland, and in Australia as Psilocybe sect. Zapotecorum, which is likely phylogenetically similar or the same. Specimens examined for the description: Auckland: Woodhill State Forest, on ground in litter of mixed pine and native forest, C. C. King, Jun 1989 PDD 57236 (holotype). Waitakere Ranges: Sharps Bush, in litter under Leptospermum and Dacrydium: PDD 43043; Atkinson Park, Titirangi Beach on soil under Leptospermum: PDD 49789; Quarry Track, Piha Valley Forest, on litter: PDD 58423. Hunua Ranges: Orere, on ground: PDD 34593; Mangatangi Valley, on rotten wood: PDD 34594.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psilocybe aucklandiae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Psilocybe aucklandiae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Psilocybe aucklandiae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Psilocybe aucklandiae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Psilocybe aucklandiae

In research: Psilocybe aucklandiae appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Psilocybe aucklandiae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Psilocybe aucklandiae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Entheogens, Fungi of New Zealand, Fungus species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Psilocybe aucklandiae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Psilocybe aucklandiae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Psilocybe aucklandiae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Psilocybe aucklandiae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psilocybe aucklandiae in simple terms?

Why does Psilocybe aucklandiae matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Psilocybe aucklandiae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Psilocybe aucklandiae.