Is Panaeolus cyanescens and Psilocybe cyanescens the same mushroom?
Panaeolus cyanescens and Psilocybe cyanescens are not the same mushroom. They are not even closely related. The confusion comes when both species, Panaeolus cyanescens(the subtropical species) and Psilocybe cyanescens(the wood lover) are abbreviated P. cyanescens. This is a common mistake because they have the same species name. The Generic name (or first name) is the important part. To make it even more confusing, some taxonomists place tropical Panaeolus into Copelandia. So Panaeolus cyanescens and Copelandia cyanescens are the same while Psilocybe cyanescens is something else entirely. Psilocybe cyanescens is actually a sister species to Psilocybe azurescens and was previously considered to only be a larger form of Psilocybe cyanescens. Since they are so closely related, they share the same growth parameters and substrate preferences. They even grow in the same types of habitat. So any tips on how to grow one should be totally transferable to the other.
