Two new species of hallucinogenic mushrooms discovered in Southern Africa

Two new species of psychoactive mushrooms in the genus Psilocybe have been discovered in Southern Africa, bringing the list to six known species indigenous to Africa.

Psilocybe species are among the most well-known and studied species of psychoactive mushrooms in the world, with about 140 described species, Stellenbosch University (SU) said on Thursday.

The two new species were identified as Psilocybe ingeli and Psilocybe maluti in a paper published this week in the journal Mycologia.

Psilocybe ingeli was first found in 2023 growing in pastureland in KwaZulu-Natal by Talan Moult, a self-taught citizen mycologist.

Psilocybe maluti was first found on a Free State smallholding in 2021 by Daniella Mulder, who sent photos of the mushrooms for identification to Andrew Killian, one of the country’s leading citizen mycologists based in Somerset West.

They were sent for DNA sequencing and analysis at SU’s department of microbiology.

In the paper, researchers shared information about the traditional use of Psilocybe maluti by Basotho traditional healers from Lesotho which appeared to be the “only recorded first-hand report of hallucinogenic mushrooms being used traditionally in Africa”.

Cullen Taylor Clark, a citizen mycologist and co-author, worked with Mamosebetsi Sethathi, a Mosotho traditional healer, to document the use of Psilocybe maluti (locally known as koae-ea-lekhoaba) in traditional healing practices.

Breyten van der Merwe, a postgraduate student in chemical engineering at SU, trained mycologist and first author of the paper, said: “These two species were sent to me by citizen scientists. It would be impossible for a single researcher to cover a fraction of an area these mushroom enthusiasts have access to. This is the only way we will be able to further studies in African mycology.”

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