What are the most potent magic mushrooms?
While there are literally hundreds of species of fungi that produce psychedelic mushrooms, some are far more potent than others. Certain species produce higher concentrations of the psychoactive alkaolids Psilocin, Psilocybin, and Baeocystin. These three compounds are reported to have synergistic psychedelic effects.
The top three potent magic mushrooms as ranked in Paul Stamet’s book, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, are as follows:
- P. azurenscens
- P. bohemica
- P. semilanceata
While these are the top 3 magic mushrooms in potency, they are not very common varieties. In other words, you may be hard pressed to find a dried sack of any of these mushrooms. This is primarily due to the species’ ease of growth and adoption by cultivators.
That said, another question may be, what are the most potent common magic mushrooms?
The most potent commonly found mushrooms are as follows:
- P. cyanescens (wavycaps)
- P. tampanensis
- P. cubensis
Below you will find the full magic mushroom potency chart based on the percentage of psychoactive compounds found within each of the most common species.
| RANK | SPECIES | IMAGE | PSILOCYBIN | PSILOCIN | BAEOCYSTIN | REFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | P. azurenscens |  | 1.78 % | .38 % | .35 % | Stamets and Gartz 1995 |
| #2 | P. bohemica |  | 1.34 % | .11 % | .02 % | Gartz and Muller 1989; Gartz (1994) |
| #3 | P. semilanceata |  | .98 % | .02 % | .36 % | Gartz 1994 |
| #4 | P. baeocystis |  | .85 % | .59 % | .10 % | Repke et al. 1977; Beug and Bigwood 1982(b) |
| #5 | P. cyanescens |  | .85 % | .36 % | .03 % | Stijve and Kuyper 1985; Repke et al. 1977 |
| #6 | P. tampanensis |  | .68 % | .32 % | n/a | Gartz 1994 |
| #7 | P. cubensis |  | .63 % | .60 % | .025 % | Gartz 1994; Stijve and de Meijer 1993 |
| #8 | P. weilii |  | .61 % | .27 % | .05 % | |
| #9 | P. hoogshagenii |  | .60 % | .10 % | n/a | Heim and Hofmann 1958 |
| #10 | P. stuntzii |  | .36 % | .12 % | .02 % | Beug and Bigwood 1982(b); Repke et al. 1977 |
| #11 | P. cyanofibrillosa |  | .21 % | .04 % | n/a | Stamets et al. 1980 |
| #12 | P. liniformans |  | .16 % | n/d | .005 % | Stijve and Kuyper |
Read about this and more in Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, by Paul Stamets
Additional Citations for references:
- Stivje, de Meijer. “Macromycetes from the state of Parana, Brazil. 4 The psychoactive species” Arq Biol Technol 1993 36(2):313-329
- Gartz and Muller. “analyses and cultivation of fruitbodies and mycelia of Psilocybe bohemica.” Biochem Physiol Pflanzen. 1989. 184:337-341
- Stamets and Gartz. “a new caerulescent Psilocybe from the Pacitic Coast of Northwestern North America”. Integration 6. 1995
- Repke D, Leslie D, Guzman G. “Baeocystin in Psilocybie, Conocybe, and Panaeolus.” LLoydia. 1977. 40:566-578
- Beug M, Bigwood J. “Quantitative analysis of psilocybin and psilocin in Psilocybe baeocystic Singer and Smith by high-performance liquid chromatography and by thin-layer chromatography.” Journal of Chromatography 1981 207:370-385.
- Beug M, Bigwood J. “Variation of psilocybin and psilocin levels with repeated flushes (harvests) of mature sporocaps of Psilocybe cubensis (earle) Singer.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1982. 5:271-291.
- Beug M, Bigwood J. “Psilocybin and psilocin levels in twenty species from seven genera of wild mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest (USA)” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1982. 5:271-278.
- Stivje TC, Kuyper TW. “Occurence of psilocybin in various higher fungi from several European countries” Planta Medica 1985 51(5):385-387.
- Heim RA, Hofmann A. “La psilocybine et la psilocine chez les psilocybe et strophaires hallucinogenes.” Les champignons hallucinogenes du Mexique. 1958. 6:258-267. Paris: Editions du Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle.
- Stamets P, Beug PM, Bigwood J, Guzman G. “a new species and a new variety of Psilocybe from North America” Mycotaxon 1980 11:476-484.
