Sunday, May 13, 2007

what's in a name

Originally intended to be an honorarium to R. Gordon Wasson, the term wassonii had to be relegated to history. Until now:)
Good article about wasson





following info from:
stainblue

Unable to locate this species in the field, Roger Heim and Rolf Singer based their descriptions of this mushroom on dried specimens purchased from Matlazincan Indians in the marketplace of Tenango del Valle, in the Nevado de Toluca region of the State of Mexico. In 1958 Heim described this fungus as Psilocybe wassonii, but without any Latin designation; Singer and Smith described it in the same year as Psilocybe muliercula (muliercula = "little women"). Both descriptions reported this fungus growing in Pinus forests surrounding the town of Tenango del Valle. However, after several expeditions to the area, Dr. Gaston Guzman located it 10 kilometers from Tenango del Valle in an Abies forest on the slopes of the Nevado de Toluca [Guzman 1958; letter to author 1999].

Closely related to Psilocybe zapotecorum, this mushroom prefers a similar habitat -- rich, dark soils in marshy areas -- where it can be found fruiting throughout summer in small groups or dense clusters.

In 1979 Guzman, along with Stephen H. Pollock, described a new entheogenic species found by them in the Naolinco region of the State of Veracruz, Mexico. This mushroom prefers rich soils in deciduous forests where it can be found fruiting singly or in small groups. The pseudorhiza at the base of the stalk is characteristic. This species was named Psilocybe wassoniorum to honor Wasson and his wife Valentina, and to remedy the nomenclatural dispute regarding Psilocybe wassonii.


here: "Wasson's Psilocybe" (Psilocybe wassoniorum Guzman et Pollock).







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