A description of two novel <i>Psilocybe</i> species from southern Africa and some notes on African traditional hallucinogenic mushroom use

Abstract

Two new <i>Psilocybe</i> species (Hymenogastraceae), <i>P. ingeli</i> and <i>P. maluti</i>, are described from southern Africa. Morphology and phylogeny were used to separate the two novel fungi from their closest relatives in the genus. <i>Psilocybe ingeli</i> was found fruiting on bovine manure-enriched grasslands in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa and differs from its closest relative <i>P. keralensis</i> and others in the internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, partial 28S nuc rDNA, and translation elongation factor 1-alpha regions, distribution, and having larger basidiospores. Similarly, <i>P. maluti</i> was collected from the Free State Province of South Africa and observed in the Kingdom of Lesotho, growing on bovine manure. A secotioid pileus, geographic distribution, and differences in the same DNA regions distinguish <i>P. maluti</i> from its closest relative <i>P. chuxiongensis</i>. Furthermore, the spore dispersal and traditional, spiritualistic use of <i>P. maluti</i> are discussed here.