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Edibility
Toxic
Lookalike Danger
5 / 5
Habitat
🪵 West Coast wood chips
Season
Oct – Jan
"West Coast counterpart of Wavy Cap, named for ethnomycologist John W. Allen. Indistinguishable in the field; DNA pulls them apart. Park-edge wood chips, urban landscaping."
🌳 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.
Named in 2012 for ethnomycologist John W. Allen. Visually indistinguishable from Psilocybe cyanescens (Wavy Cap) — the split was driven by DNA. Slightly flatter cap on average and concentrated west of the Cascades. Contains psilocybin and psilocin.
Habitat
Urban and park-edge wood chips along the West Coast from southern British Columbia to central California. Fruits in late fall through midwinter.
Look for this on the ground
Lawn and wood-chip edge
Manicured lawn meeting fresh hardwood mulch — suburban edge habitat.
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
South Cascades / Klamath
OR · 4,000–9,000 ft
Northern Sierra / Tahoe
CA · 5,000–9,000 ft
South Sierra / El Dorado
CA · 5,000–9,500 ft
Willamette Valley / Columbia Gorge
OR · 200–1,500 ft
Angeles NF / San Gabriel Mountains
CA · 1,500–10,064 ft
Los Padres NF / Big Sur
CA · 0–8,831 ft
Shasta-Trinity NF
CA · 1,500–14,179 ft
Mendocino NF / Yolla Bolly
CA · 1,500–8,092 ft
Umpqua NF / Diamond Lake
OR · 1,000–9,173 ft
Siuslaw NF / Oregon Dunes
OR · 0–4,097 ft
Growing Requirements
Min Soil Temp
45°F
Moisture Need
rain 0.5in 7d
Drought Tolerance
low
Elevation Range
0–14,179 ft
Look-Alikes
Psilocybe cyanescens (Wavy Cap)
Indistinguishable in the field; identical psychoactive profile.
Galerina marginata (Deadly Galerina)
DEADLY. Same wood-chip habitat. Confirm bluing.
Identification Tips
- ✓Cap less strongly wavy than P. cyanescens but otherwise the same
- ✓Same blue-bruise reaction; same psilocybin/psilocin chemistry
- ✓Distribution lobs west of the Cascade crest
Field Notes
West Coast wood chips
Found Allen's 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.