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Liberty cap (Psilocybe semilanceata)
Arp · CC BY-SA 3.0
Inedible · legally controlled

Liberty cap

Psilocybe semilanceata · Hymenogastraceae

The liberty cap is a small brown grassland mushroom with a conical to bell-shaped cap and a sharp, nipple-like tip.

FamilyHymenogastraceae
SeasonSep–Nov
Spore printDeep reddish purple-brown
Cap width5–25 mm
Stem length4.5–14 cm
Records in Turkey1 records
CultivationWild only
StatusInedible · legally controlled

The liberty cap is a small brown grassland mushroom with a conical to bell-shaped cap and a sharp, nipple-like tip. It contains psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin, and is widespread in temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, especially Europe. This page is for identification and warning only.

Turkish: Psilocybe semilanceata

Liberty cap

How to recognise it

Liberty cap, part by part

No ring or volva Spore print: Deep reddish purple-brown Never taste it.

Cap — Liberty cap
Cap5–25 mm; sharply conical to bell-shaped with a prominent nipple; yellow to brown.
Gills — Liberty cap
Gills15–27 narrow gills; pale brown, then dark grey to purple-brown with a paler edge.
Stem — Liberty cap
StemSlender, yellowish-brown, 4.5–14 cm.

When and where

Sep–Nov

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sepin season
  10. Octin season
  11. Novin season
  12. Dec

The liberty cap fruits in autumn in Europe; there is a single GBIF record from Turkey (Trabzon, October).

Where do liberty caps grow?

The liberty cap grows in damp meadows, pastures and lawns on acidic soil, not directly on dung but on decaying grass roots.

In Turkey

There is a single GBIF record of the liberty cap in Turkey (Trabzon).

  • Trabzon1

1 observations on our map (GBIF, iNaturalist). Record density also reflects where observers work.

Latest liberty cap observations

See on the map

In its habitat — Liberty cap
In its habitat
In its habitat — Liberty cap
In its habitat

Look-alikes

What is it mistaken for?

Poisonous

White fibrecap Inocybe geophylla

A poisonous, muscarine-containing whitish species with a silky cap and a dull yellow-brown spore print. This confusion is reported in the sources.

Liberty cap
Liberty cap
Deadly fibrecap
Deadly fibrecap
Deadly

Deadly fibrecap Inosperma erubescens

A member of the Inocybe group carrying a potentially fatal dose of muscarine.

Liberty cap
Liberty cap
Deadly galerina
Deadly galerina
Deadly

Deadly galerina Galerina marginata

A little brown mushroom with amatoxins; rusty brown spore print.

Related species

All species → · Identify by photo →

Sources (6)
Photo credits (10)