Legal notice
Psilocybin and psilocin are internationally controlled substances under Schedule I of the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; consequently psilocybin-containing mushrooms are prohibited or regulated in many countries.
The specific legal situation differs substantially by country (fresh vs. dried mushrooms, possession, cultivation, research) and changes over time. Inform yourself about the current rules in your country. This note does not permit or recommend consumption.
For education and documentation only. Not a consumption guide, not legal or medical advice. Possession, cultivation and use are regulated differently by country and species — check the law that applies to you.
© Scienceman71 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Liberty cap
Caution🐾Spitzkegliger Kahlkopf · (Psilocybe semilanceata)
Strophariaceae family (Strophariaceae)
Description
From late summer onward, the liberty cap (Strophariaceae) appears on pastures and grassland as an inconspicuous, barely thumb-sized mushroom with a distinctive nipple-shaped cap. It contains the indole compounds psilocybin and psilocin along with the related baeocystin — substances acting as 5-HT2A receptor agonists now being studied in controlled clinical trials as a possible treatment for treatment-resistant depression, strictly under medical supervision. Unlike certain Mexican Psilocybe species used ritually as 'teonanácatl' in Mesoamerican cultures, the European liberty cap has no documented pre-industrial tradition of use. Its greatest danger lies in misidentification: in the field it is easily confused with deadly poisonous small mushrooms such as the amatoxin-containing funeral bell, muscarine-containing fibrecaps, or the kidney-damaging Cortinarius rubellus. This profile serves purely botanical and scientific classification — it is not a guide to foraging, cultivation or consumption.
🌿 Risk of confusion — read before wild-harvesting!
WARNING: High risk of confusion with deadly poisonous small mushrooms, especially the funeral bell (Galerina marginata, amatoxin-containing), muscarine-containing fibrecaps (Inocybe) and the kidney-damaging Cortinarius rubellus — misidentification can be fatal.
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms (chiefly Mexican Psilocybe species such as P. mexicana) were used ritually and religiously in Mesoamerican cultures ('teonanácatl'); the European liberty cap, by contrast, has no documented pre-industrial ritual tradition. Purely historical and ethnomycological context, not a usage recommendation.
The compound psilocybin (a prodrug of psilocin, a 5-HT2A agonist) is being studied in controlled clinical trials as a rapid-acting treatment approach for, among others, treatment-resistant depression; meta-analyses of randomised trials report marked effects. This is regulated research under medical supervision — not evidence for self-use.
WARNING: High risk of confusion with deadly poisonous small mushrooms, especially the funeral bell (Galerina marginata, amatoxin-containing), muscarine-containing fibrecaps (Inocybe) and the kidney-damaging Cortinarius rubellus — misidentification can be fatal. Psilocybin/psilocin themselves have low physical toxicity but can trigger intense psychological reactions, anxiety/panic, psychosis-like states and dangerous behaviour. This profile is for education and documentation only; it is not a consumption, dosing, cultivation or foraging guide.
Harvested part: fruiting body
- PsilocybinAlkaloid
Principal active compound, a phosphorylated tryptamine (prodrug); dephosphorylated to psilocin in the body. Averages ~1% of dry weight (measured 0.2–2.37%).
- PsilocinAlkaloid
Active metabolite, a partial 5-HT2A serotonin-receptor agonist that crosses the blood–brain barrier.
- BaeocystinAlkaloid
A further minor tryptamine alkaloid present in the species.
- [3]MonographHallucinogenic mushrooms drug profile — EMCDDA/EUDA(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [4]MonographEfficacy and acceptability of psilocybin for primary or secondary depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs (PMC10902050)(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [5]MonographHallucinogens and Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor-Mediated Signaling Pathways (PMC5756147)(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [1]WikipediaPsilocybe semilanceata — Wikipedia (English)(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [2]WikipediaSpitzkegeliger Kahlkopf — Wikipedia (Deutsch)(accessed: 2026-05-31)