biology

Psilocybe mairei

Psilocybe mairei 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 mairei rather than just read about it. In short: Psilocybe mairei is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is found in Algeria and Morocco and contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Psilocybe mairei is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is found in Algeria and Morocco and contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin. The oldest example of rock art suggesting use of psychedelic mushrooms might depict P. mairei. In 1992 the Italian ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini reported finding a painted mural from Tassili n'Ajjer in the Sahara desert in southeast Algeria, dated 7000 to 9000 BCE, portraying mushrooms (later tentatively identified as P. mairei). The species was first described in 1928 by René Maire, collected in the Atlas Mountains above the city of Blida, Algeria under Atlas cedar, and given the name Hypholoma cyanescens. In 1953, it was transferred to the genus Geophilia by Robert Kühner and Henri Romagnesi. In 1973, Rolf Singer recognized it as a Psilocybe, but the name Psilocybe cyanescens was an unavailable name, having been used to describe a different species in 1946. Hence, Singer provided a new species epithet, named in honor of the mycologist who originally described the species.

See also List of Psilocybin mushrooms Psilocybin mushrooms Psilocybe

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psilocybe mairei

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

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Psilocybe mairei in simple terms?

Psilocybe mairei is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is found in Algeria and Morocco and contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin.

Why does Psilocybe mairei 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 mairei?

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 mairei.