Learn all about mushrooms: types of mushrooms and how to identify them, how psilocybin works, safety, research, state laws, foraging, cooking and growing.
Hands-on guides to foraging, growing, cooking, species and state programs.
Short interactive lessons with charts, from mushroom biology to clinical trials.
A mushroom is the reproductive structure of a fungus, a bit like an apple on a tree. Most of the organism lives out of sight as microscopic threads that spread through soil, wood or dung.
Those threads, called hyphae, weave together into mycelium. When temperature, moisture and food line up, the mycelium pushes up a fruiting body whose job is to make and release spores.
Tap the labels on the diagram to see what each part does. Gill color, spore print color and the presence of a ring or cup at the base are some of the features experts use to tell species apart.
A spore lands somewhere with food and moisture and sends out a thread, or hypha. Hyphae branch and fuse into mycelium, which digests the material around it.
With the right cues (often fresh air, humidity and a temperature change) the mycelium forms tiny knots called primordia, or pins. Pins swell into mature mushrooms within days.
The mature cap drops millions of spores and the loop starts again. Licensed psilocybin manufacturers in Oregon and Colorado follow this same cycle under controlled, lab-tested conditions.
Culinary mushrooms such as oyster, shiitake and maitake are foods. Functional mushrooms such as lion's mane and reishi are sold as supplements; most claims about them come from early or animal research.
Psilocybin mushrooms contain psilocybin and psilocin. They are a controlled substance federally, with legal supervised access only in specific state programs and research.
Amanita muscaria (the red-and-white fly agaric) is a separate case: it contains muscimol and ibotenic acid, not psilocybin, and products sold as "Amanita gummies" are not the same thing.
Psilocybin mushrooms have a long history of ceremonial use in Mesoamerica, where the Mexica called them teonanácatl. In 1955 R. Gordon Wasson joined a ceremony led by María Sabina in Oaxaca and described it in Life magazine in 1957.
In 1958 Albert Hofmann identified psilocybin and psilocin, which made pure doses possible for research. By the early 1970s international and U.S. drug laws placed psilocybin in the most restricted category and research nearly stopped.
Johns Hopkins won approval to resume research in 2000 and published a landmark study in 2006. The FDA granted breakthrough therapy designations in 2018 and 2019, Oregon and Colorado created supervised programs, and in November 2026 Compass Pathways completed an FDA application for its psilocybin treatment.
Psilocybin carries a phosphate group that keeps it stable in dried mushrooms. After it is swallowed, enzymes in the gut and liver remove that group, leaving psilocin.
Psilocin is shaped a lot like serotonin. It crosses into the brain and binds most strongly to serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors, which are dense in the cortex, the brain's layer for perception and thinking.
Activating those receptors changes how brain regions talk to each other, and researchers think the after-effects on brain plasticity may last longer than the experience itself. Follow the five steps in the workflow to see each stage.
Pharmacology studies give volunteers measured doses and draw blood over time. Psilocin is detectable within about 30 minutes, and one well-known study found peak blood levels about 2 hours after the dose.
Psilocin's half-life is short. Studies report about 1.8 hours for free psilocin and around 3 hours in other measurements, which fits with effects that usually fade within about six hours.
Drag along the chart to see the typical phases. The shape is a general guide based on study reports; real sessions vary with dose, body size, food and the person.
Researchers gave a small group of volunteers 25 mg of psilocybin and, on other days, the stimulant methylphenidate, then scanned their brains many times using precision functional mapping.
Psilocybin desynchronized activity across most of the cortex. Networks became less distinct, and the default mode network, linked to self-focused thought, changed the most. Most connectivity returned to normal within days, but one link between the hippocampus and the default mode network stayed lower for about three weeks.
The chart compares how much brain connectivity changed in each condition, scaled to normal day-to-day variation. Psilocybin's change (3.52) was about as large as the difference between two different people's brains (3.53).
Dendritic spines are tiny bumps on neurons where connections form. Yale researchers imaged the same neurons in living mice before and after a single dose.
Spine density rose about 7% after one day and 12% after seven days, and spines got larger. About a third of the new spines were still present 34 days later.
This is animal research, so it doesn't show the same happens in people. It does give scientists a possible reason why a short experience could have longer-lasting after-effects.
Clinical trials use a measured dose of pure psilocybin, not mushrooms. People are screened for health conditions and medications, then meet their session team for preparation.
On dosing day a participant spends roughly six to eight hours in a calm room with trained staff. Afterwards, integration sessions help them talk through the experience.
Researchers then measure symptoms at set points, often weeks 1, 3, 6 and later. Many trials compare against a very low dose or an active placebo because it is hard to hide who received a full dose.
In the largest Phase 2 trial (233 adults with treatment-resistant depression), a single 25 mg dose lowered depression scores by 12.0 points at week 3, versus 5.4 for a 1 mg dose. A 10 mg dose was in between.
In a 104-person trial for major depression, scores dropped 19.1 points by day 43 after psilocybin versus 6.8 after an active placebo (niacin). A smaller Johns Hopkins trial reported 71% response and 54% remission at week 4.
A head-to-head study against the antidepressant escitalopram found no significant difference on its main measure (−8.0 vs −6.0 points), although some secondary measures favored psilocybin. Pick a study in the chart to compare.
New medicines move through lab work, Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials, then a New Drug Application (NDA) and FDA review. Psilocybin would also need DEA and state rescheduling before it could be prescribed.
In COMP005 (258 people), one 25 mg dose beat placebo by 3.6 points on the MADRS scale at week 6. In COMP006 (581 people), two 25 mg doses beat a 1 mg dose by 3.8 points, with benefits maintained on average through week 26.
Usona Institute is running its own Phase 3 trial, uAspire, in major depressive disorder. The FDA also held a public hearing in September 2026 on how supervised psychedelic treatment might work in practice.
In a 15-person pilot, 80% of smokers were abstinent six months after psilocybin sessions combined with a quit-smoking program. There was no control group, so the result is a signal, not proof.
In a 95-person randomized trial for alcohol use disorder, people given psilocybin had heavy drinking on 9.7% of days over eight months, versus 23.6% with an active placebo.
Two 2016 randomized trials in people with life-threatening cancer found large drops in depression and anxiety. At six months about 78% (depression) and 83% (anxiety) still met the bar for a clinically meaningful response.
Evidence strength depends on study size, controls and repetition. Treatment-resistant depression has the most: two Phase 3 trials and an FDA application. Major depression has strong Phase 2 data and a Phase 3 trial under way.
Alcohol use disorder and cancer-related distress have randomized Phase 2 trials. Smoking and anorexia have small pilot studies, and a self-blinding microdosing study found no meaningful difference from placebo.
Open questions remain: how long benefits last, how much expectation and the support team contribute, and how results translate outside carefully screened trial groups.
In a large international survey, about 0.2% of people who had used magic mushrooms in the past year said they sought emergency medical treatment, mostly for short-lived psychological symptoms.
In trials, the most common side effects were headache, nausea and dizziness. In COMP006, serious adverse events through week 26 were similar between the 25 mg group (5.7%) and the 1 mg group (6.3%).
People with a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar I disorder, certain heart conditions, or those taking lithium should not use psilocybin without medical guidance; lithium co-use has been linked to seizures. Unregulated edibles may contain other substances.
In Oregon, adults 21 and older (no residency or prescription needed) complete a preparation session with a licensed facilitator, then an administration session at a licensed service center. Facilitators follow up within 72 hours and offer integration.
Colorado's Natural Medicine program licenses healing centers and facilitators, and personal possession by adults is decriminalized. New Mexico's Medical Psilocybin Act (2025) covers conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and end-of-life distress, with first patients targeted for the end of 2026.
Federally, psilocybin is still Schedule I. An FDA approval would cover a specific medicine given in clinics, not mushrooms. Pick a state in the workflow to see its steps.
Long-form explainers you can read start to finish.
Common claims, checked. Tap one to see the answer.
Psilocybin is a prodrug. The body converts it to psilocin, which binds serotonin 2A receptors.
The main body is mycelium, a network of threads in the soil, wood or dung.
Lion's mane is a culinary and functional mushroom. It contains no psilocybin.
Pharmacokinetic studies report a peak around 2 hours and a short half-life.
The difference on the primary measure was not statistically significant (−8.0 vs −6.0).
COMP005 and COMP006 both reported significant MADRS differences at week 6.
Amanita muscaria contains muscimol and ibotenic acid, a different set of compounds.
Products must be consumed during an administration session at a licensed service center.
There were no significant between-group differences on overall psychological outcomes.
It was animal research. It suggests a mechanism but doesn't show the same in people.
Plain-English definitions of the words you will see in research.
Educational content only, not medical or legal advice.