Smith's bell cap (Pholiotina Smithii)
Pholiotina Smithii
Visual Identification
What is Pholiotina smithii? A Complete Overview
Pholiotina smithii is a rarely encountered psilocybin-containing mushroom known for its modest psychoactive effects and delicate stature. Unlike more prominent members of the Psilocybe genus, Pholiotina smithii belongs to the genus Pholiotina and can be easily overlooked due to its small, fragile appearance and often remote, moist habitats. It is typically recognized by a conical, tawny brown cap that fades with age and an extremely thin stipe which may feature remnants of an ephemeral ring. The cap often becomes hygrophanous—changing color based on moisture level—causing further confusion in identification.
What distinguishes Pholiotina smithii from other mushrooms is the combination of a viscid (slimy) cap when moist, a unique spore print that is rusty-brown to yellow-brown, and microscopic features such as cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia types, which have been crucial in distinguishing it taxonomically. This mushroom has been misidentified in the past due to its visual similarities with dangerous species like Galerina marginata, a deadly toxic lookalike.
While it does contain the hallucinogenic compounds psilocybin and psilocin, their concentrations are lower than most cultivated psychedelic species, making its recreational use relatively rare. Nevertheless, its presence within moist, grassy, woody environments makes it of particular interest to natural mycologists and psychoactive fungi researchers documenting obscure entheogens across North America and parts of Europe.
Taxonomic Classification
Origin and Traditional Use of Pholiotina smithii
Pholiotina smithii has not retained the prominent cultural or spiritual reputation that many Psilocybe mushrooms have due to its lower potency and risk of misidentification. That said, it has emerged occasionally in ethnomycological circles, especially among North American researchers in the Pacific Northwest where the mushroom can be collected in specific habitats post-rainfall. It was first described formally in 1958 by mycologist A.H. Smith, after whom the species is named.
There is limited documented traditional use of Pholiotina smithii by indigenous populations, primarily because of its relatively obscure distribution and higher risk profile. However, its inclusion within the broader conversation about psychoactive fungi has led to increased curiosity and mentions in psychoactive fungi databases such as those maintained by Paul Stamets and ethnobotanical literature. It is often treated more as a cautionary example—frequently cited side-by-side with fatal Galerina species to underscore the importance of identification accuracy in psilocybin foraging.
Within the realms of modern underground mycology and recreational psychedelic subcultures, it has occasionally been sourced and consumed by explorers specifically interested in its chemical profile. Its mild potency has seen it used in microdosing experiments, though this remains rare. Notably, its presence in damp grasslands of temperate regions has ensured that it continues to attract attention from field mycologists and citizen scientists mapping lesser-known entheogens in natural environments across Europe and North America.
How to Cultivate Pholiotina smithii
Difficulty Level: Expert - notoriously challenging due to specific environmental requirements and risks associated with misidentification at various growth stages.
Substrate Requirements:
- Sterilized milo grain bags for spawn medium
- Organic-rich compost and partially decomposed leaf litter
- CVG (Coconut Coir, Vermiculite, Gypsum) substrate mix
- Specialized All-In-One Grow Kits for species-specific cultivation
Environmental Conditions:
- Colonization Temperature: 68°F to 75°F (20°C–24°C)
- Fruiting Temperature: 68°F to 75°F (20°C–24°C)
- Humidity: 90%+ consistently required during fruiting
- Lighting: Indirect light exposure 12 hours per day
- Air Exchange: Moderate air exchange to prevent contamination
Timeline:
- Colonization: 14–21 days under stable conditions
- Pinning stage: Extremely fragile and sensitive to environmental changes
- Harvesting: Requires extreme care due to delicate fruiting bodies
Important Note: Cultivating Pholiotina smithii is both uncommon and notoriously challenging. Unlike domesticated psilocybin mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, this species is not well-suited for widespread indoor cultivation. With limited success rates and fragile yield characteristics, cultivating Pholiotina smithii remains largely a niche endeavor best left to researchers and advanced hobbyists rather than first-time growers.
Where Does Pholiotina smithii Typically Grow?
Pholiotina smithii favorably grows in moist, temperate zones and thrives particularly in well-decayed organic matter. Its natural distribution is scattered but known populations have been recorded most consistently in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, as well as parts of British Columbia and select temperate regions in Europe. These mushrooms are saprophytic in nature, growing on nitrogen-rich, decomposing plant material primarily in grassy areas.
The species prefers grassy meadows, damp open woodland clearings, mossy riverbanks, and heavily disturbed soils with organic load. It is rarely found in dense forest interiors or arid or overly sunny environments. Instead, it tends to colonize areas with high moisture retention, such as near irrigation ditches, under low shrubs, or on floodplains. The fungi often appear after a period of heavy rain followed by mild temperatures in the range of 12°C – 20°C (54°F – 68°F).
Key environmental conditions include:
- Temperature: 54°F–68°F (12°C–20°C)
- High moisture retention environments
- Nitrogen-rich decomposing plant material
- Sea level to low elevation environments
- Areas with intermixed grasses and mosses
Altitude-wise, Pholiotina smithii has been observed growing closer to sea level and does not appear to favor alpine or mountainous terrains. Fruiting bodies can appear singly or in small clusters, sometimes intermixed with grasses and mosses, making them hard to spot unless actively searched for.
When is Pholiotina smithii in Season?
Late Summer to Mid Autumn (August through October)
Is Pholiotina smithii Edible or Toxic?
Toxicity Information:
Pholiotina smithii is categorized as hallucinogenic edible, but with one of the highest risks of accidental poisoning due to misidentification. Morphologically, it closely resembles several deadly species, particularly from the Galerina genus—namely, Galerina marginata, which contains amatoxins that cause severe liver and kidney failure even in minuscule amounts.
Physical Risks:
- Extreme risk of fatal misidentification with Galerina marginata
- Fragile structures degrade quickly, increasing contamination risk
- Low potency may lead to overconsumption and cross-contamination risks
- Potential for strong gastrointestinal reactions in degraded specimens
Risk of Misidentification:
Because of these lookalikes, ingestion of wild-gathered Pholiotina smithii without laboratory confirmation is strongly discouraged. Adverse symptoms resulting from consuming misidentified species such as vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, organ failure, and death have been recorded in confusion cases. Even authentic Pholiotina smithii can produce strong gastrointestinal reactions if harvested in degraded microbial zones or after trauma-induced secondary metabolites have accumulated.
Thus, while technically not toxic on its own in small quantities, Pholiotina smithii is flagged by expert foragers and mycoscholars as a high-risk mushroom where extreme caution is required during collection, identification, and handling.
What are the Medicinal Uses for Pholiotina smithii?
Pholiotina smithii, like other psilocybin-containing mushrooms, has drawn moderate interest from researchers exploring the potential therapeutic applications of psychedelics. While the species itself is less commonly studied due to its rarity and low potency, the compounds it contains—namely psilocybin and psilocin—are associated with various psychoactive and medicinal benefits when used in controlled contexts.
Potential Benefits:
- Neuroplasticity Enhancement: Preliminary research suggests that these compounds induce neuroplasticity, enhance emotional regulation, and may reduce symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and PTSD
- Serotonin Receptor Activity: The chemical properties of psilocybin interact with serotonin receptors, particularly 5-HT2A, with potential for supporting cognitive flexibility and long-term emotional stability
- Microdosing Applications: Some advanced psychonauts have included smaller doses in rotational microdosing schedules with the goal of improved focus or mood regulation
- Research Interest: Holds research-based interest for studying variable potency in natural psychedelic compounds
Although Pholiotina smithii has not been a specific subject in large clinical trials, the potential therapeutic implications based on its alkaloid content cannot be dismissed. It's essential to note, however, that chemical concentration studies have revealed that potency in Pholiotina smithii is often inconsistent, and batch-specific bioassays or chromatography testing would be required to standardize therapeutic use.
Important: Because of this variability, it holds more of a research-based interest at this point in terms of medicinal application rather than being considered a robust or preferred therapeutic strain such as Psilocybe cubensis or Psilocybe semilanceata.
What Drugs Interact with Pholiotina smithii?
Interactions with Prescription Medications:
- MAO Inhibitors (MAOIs): Combining psilocybin mushrooms with MAOIs can dangerously impact serotonin metabolism, potentially increasing psilocybin intensity to overwhelming levels and risking serotonin syndrome
- SSRI Antidepressants: SSRIs such as fluoxetine and sertraline may dull the hallucinogenic effects by dampening 5-HT2A receptor sensitivity, although this interaction can vary from individual to individual
- Tricyclic Antidepressants & Mood Stabilizers: May exacerbate anxiety during a psychedelic experience when combined with psilocybin
Other Substances:
- Alcohol: Can impair judgment dangerously mid-trip, and further stress the liver and kidneys especially in foraged mushrooms where mycotoxin exposure risk exists
- Cannabis: May intensify visual effects and alter subjective time perception when paired with Pholiotina smithii, although synergistic emotional effects should be anticipated based on tolerance
- Herbal Supplements: Caution with St. John's Wort, 5-HTP, and other serotonergic substances like MDMA
Important: Since most adverse reactions in casual psychedelic users stem from cross-substance effects, combining Pholiotina smithii with any pharmaceutical regimen should require review by medical professionals or pharmacologists.
What Mushrooms Look Like Pholiotina smithii?
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Pholiotina smithii is its strong resemblance to highly toxic and even lethal species:
- Galerina marginata (Deadly Galerina): EXTREMELY DANGEROUS - grows in similar moist grassland environments and displays extremely similar morphology: brownish cap, rusty-colored gills, slender stipe, and small fruiting body. Contains deadly amatoxins and has caused numerous fatalities
- Conocybe filaris: Another hazardous lookalike that occasionally occurs in the same ecological niches. Also produces deadly amatoxins and has been mistaken for Pholiotina species due to its thin stem and rounded caramel-colored cap
- Small Psilocybe species: P. pelliculosa or Psilocybe silvatica produce brown to tan caps and grow in grassy environments, but differ microscopically and chemically
- Mycena and Hypholoma species: Some species can cause confusion with novice foragers who do not examine the gill attachment or spore print color
Critical Safety Note: For all these reasons, Pholiotina smithii should only be classified by trained experts using microscopic analysis (examination of cystidia, spore size/shape) and DNA sequencing where possible. Even experienced field mycologists are known to avoid collecting this species due to the incredibly high risk-to-reward ratio when compared to more reliably identified psychedelic mushrooms.
Disclaimer: This information is for educational, taxonomy, and research purposes only. Always consult a trained professional before attempting to identify any mushroom. Always consult a trained healthcare professional before attempting to ingest any mushroom. Do not message asking if we sell cultures or spores, all requests will be ignored. Always respect your local laws.