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Ovoid-Spore PsilocybePsilocybe ovoideocystidiata
Edibility
Toxic
Lookalike Danger
5 / 5
Habitat
🪵 River bottom wood chips
Season
Apr – Jul
"Spring-fruiting Psilocybe of mid-Atlantic riverbeds and mulched landscaping. Caramel cap, blue-staining stem. Spread fast along the east coast in the 2000s — a new neighbor."
🌳 Host Trees & Plants
This species is found with or partners with the following hosts. Ectomycorrhizal hosts (green border) form a root-level partnership; ericoid / arbutoid shrubs (purple border) share the same mycorrhizal networks.
Wood-Chip Mulch
Hardwood mulch
Saprobic substrate
Landscape hardwood chip mulch — wine cap, bird’s nest fungi, dog-vomit slime mold. A great backyard cultivation substrate.
A spring (and second fall) fruiting Psilocybe of the mid-Atlantic and eastern US, found in mulched landscaping and along river bottoms. Distinguished by its ovoid spore shape under a microscope; in the field it looks like a smaller, paler Wavy Cap. Spread rapidly along the east coast in the 2000s.
Habitat
River-bottom wood debris, mulched landscaping, and disturbed riparian soil from Pennsylvania south to North Carolina, with outlier populations in Oregon. Spring is the main flush; some populations fruit again in autumn.
Look for this on the ground
Cottonwood bottomland
Damp gritty soil along creeks, large cottonwood leaves, small river pebbles.
Season Windows by Region
Region
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
North Cascades
WA · 1,500–8,000 ft
Central Cascades / Snoqualmie
WA · 1,500–7,000 ft
Olympic Peninsula
WA · 500–6,000 ft
Gifford Pinchot / South Cascades
WA · 1,000–8,000 ft
Mt Hood / North Oregon Cascades
OR · 2,000–8,000 ft
Central Oregon / Deschutes
OR · 3,500–9,000 ft
South Cascades / Klamath
OR · 4,000–9,000 ft
Daniel Boone NF
KY · 700–2,700 ft
Hoosier NF / Brown County
IN · 500–1,050 ft
Hocking Hills
OH · 650–1,150 ft
Wayne NF
OH · 600–1,400 ft
NE Ohio
OH · 650–1,350 ft
Monongahela National Forest
WV · 1,500–4,863 ft
New River Gorge
WV · 800–3,200 ft
Shenandoah / Blue Ridge
VA · 1,000–4,049 ft
Southwest Virginia Highlands
VA · 2,000–5,729 ft
Central PA Ridges
PA · 800–2,500 ft
Allegheny National Forest
PA · 1,000–2,300 ft
Pocono Mountains
PA · 800–2,200 ft
Catskills / Hudson Valley
NY · 400–4,180 ft
Finger Lakes / Central NY
NY · 500–2,000 ft
Great Smoky Mountains
TN · 900–6,643 ft
Western NC Mountains
NC · 2,000–6,684 ft
Chattahoochee National Forest
GA · 1,200–4,784 ft
Northwest CT Hills
CT · 400–2,380 ft
Willamette Valley / Columbia Gorge
OR · 200–1,500 ft
Sumter NF (Andrew Pickens)
SC · 800–3,500 ft
Western MD / Catoctin
MD · 700–3,360 ft
White Clay Creek
DE · 100–350 ft
NW NJ / High Point
NJ · 400–1,803 ft
George Washington NF
VA · 1,000–4,397 ft
Oconee NF / GA Piedmont
GA · 400–800 ft
Laurel Highlands
PA · 1,200–3,213 ft
Cherokee NF
TN · 1,000–6,285 ft
NJ Pine Barrens
NJ · 0–200 ft
Trap Pond / DE Bald Cypress
DE · 20–80 ft
Angeles NF / San Gabriel Mountains
CA · 1,500–10,064 ft
Great Dismal Swamp NWR
VA · 0–25 ft
VA Tidewater / Colonial Parkway
VA · 0–150 ft
Ocmulgee / Central GA Piedmont
GA · 250–750 ft
Umpqua NF / Diamond Lake
OR · 1,000–9,173 ft
Siuslaw NF / Oregon Dunes
OR · 0–4,097 ft
Coal River / Southern WV
WV · 800–3,500 ft
Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness
WV · 2,500–4,863 ft
Cumberland Gap / SE KY
KY · 1,200–3,500 ft
Catskills North / Mountain Lakes
NY · 800–4,000 ft
Pine Creek / North-Central PA
PA · 800–2,400 ft
Growing Requirements
Min Soil Temp
55°F
Moisture Need
rain 0.5in 7d
Drought Tolerance
low
Elevation Range
0–10,064 ft
Commonly Mistaken For
Species people confuse with this one — often the edible they were hunting for. Each is tagged with its own edibility; Ovoid-Spore Psilocybe is the dangerous one.
Galerina marginata (Deadly Galerina)
DeadlyDEADLY. Overlapping habitat and similar coloring. Galerina does not bruise blue. Confirm bluing before any handling.
Psilocybe caerulipes
PsychoactiveAnother east-coast Psilocybe; same psilocybin content, different cap shape (smaller, more conical).
Identification Tips
- ✓Bruises indigo blue at the stem base
- ✓Spring is unusual for a Psilocybe — most North American species fruit in fall
- ✓Veil remnants often hang from the cap edge when young
Field Notes
River bottom wood chips
Found Ovoid-Spore Psilocybe?
Photograph it and log your observation on iNaturalist. The community can help confirm your ID — always get confirmation before eating.
Safety: Never eat any wild mushroom without 100% certain identification from multiple sources. This page is for informational purposes only. When in doubt, throw it out.