biology

Psilocybe graveolens

Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens rather than just read about it. In short: Psilocybe graveolens is an extremely rare psilocybin mushroom which has psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds, discovered in the salt marshes or "meadows" of Hackensack, New Jersey. This mushroom is known for its strong and persistent odor.

Key takeaways

Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Psilocybe graveolens from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Psilocybe graveolens is an extremely rare psilocybin mushroom which has psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds, discovered in the salt marshes or "meadows" of Hackensack, New Jersey. This mushroom is known for its strong and persistent odor. It is in the section Zapotecorum of the genus Psilocybe, other members of this section include Psilocybe muliercula, Psilocybe angustipleurocystidiata, Psilocybe aucklandii, Psilocybe collybioides, Psilocybe kumaenorum, Psilocybe zapotecorum, Psilocybe pintonii, Psilocybe subcaerulipes, Psilocybe moseri, Psilocybe zapotecoantillarum, Psilocybe zapotecocaribaea, and Psilocybe antioquiensis.

Etymology The species name means “strongly smelling”: Latin gravis “heavy” and olens participle present of olere “smell”.

Description Cap: (1)2 — 3(4) cm in diameter, convex to subumbonate, umbonate or with a slight depression, glabrous, even to slightly striate at the margin, hygrophanous, brownish to orange brownish, fading to golden yellow to whitish, sometimes with a dark green hue. Flesh whitish to pallid brownish, with a strong unfavorable odor. Gills: Adnexed, close, yellowish brown to chocolate brown, edges sometimes lighter. Spore Print: Dark purple brown. Stipe: (2)4 – 6 cm x 2 – 5 mm, equal or slightly expanding at the base to subulbous, white to brownish, with dark greenish or violaceous tones. stuffed to hollow, fibrillose, with a soon disappearing evanescent annulus, rhizomorphic strands attached to the base. Taste: Farinaceous Odor: Farinaceous Microscopic features: Spores (7)7.5 — 9.5(10.5) μm x (3.7)4.5 — 5.2(6) μm, pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia present. Basidia 4-spored.

Distribution and habitat Psilocybe graveolens is found growing cespitose to gregarious on rich loam of salt marshes or "meadows" in Hackensack, New Jersey, in November.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psilocybe graveolens

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens 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 graveolens 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 graveolens

In research: Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens 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 graveolens is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Entheogens, Fungi of North America, Fungus species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psilocybe graveolens in simple terms?

Why does Psilocybe graveolens 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 graveolens?

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 graveolens.