Discovery of the closest free-living relative of the domesticated “magic mushroom” Psilocybe cubensis in Africa
DRYAD – December 03, 2025
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A significant discovery in **evolutionary biology** reveals a new "magic mushroom" **genus** member, *Psilocybe ochraceocentrata*, from Zimbabwe. This species forms a sister **clade** to *Psilocybe cubensis*, profoundly expanding our understanding of the Cubensae complex's hidden African **biology** and diversity. By modeling **geography** and **ecology**, this work aims to pinpoint *P. cubensis*'s debated origins. Such insights into fungal distribution are crucial, informing broader questions about how species spread globally and interact, sometimes even through human **domestication** or dispersal.
Abstract
The "magic mushroom" genus Psilocybe is globally distributed and has a hotspot of diversity in the temperate regions of the Americas, particularly in Mesoamerica. However, many undersampled regions of the world are known to have endemic species but lack historical sampling. Here, we describe a new species of Psilocybe from Zimbabwe, Psilocybe ochraceocentrata sp. nov., Using morphological features and multiple DNA barcode regions extracted from genomic data from type specimens across the Cubensae complex. We show that Psilocybe ochraceocentrata sp. nov., is the sister clade to Psilocybe cubensis, suggesting that the cubensae complex is more diverse than previously thought and further expands upon the hidden diversity of Psilocybe derived from Africa. The geographical origin of Psilocybe cubensis is currently unknown and heavily debated. Here, we perform molecular dating and ecological niche and species distribution modeling of Psilocybe ochraceocentrata and Psilocybe cubensis to refine their possible geographic origin.