Deconica coprophila

Deconica coprophila, commonly known as the dung-loving psilocybe, meadow muffin mushroom,^[2] or dung demon, is a species of mushroom in the family Strophariaceae.

Deconica coprophila
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Strophariaceae
Genus:	Deconica
Species:	D. coprophila
Binomial name
Deconica coprophila (Bull.) P.Karst (1821)
Synonyms[1]
Agaricus coprophilus Bull. (1793) Psilocybe coprophila (Bull.) P.Kumm. (1871) Stropharia coprophila (Bull.) J.E. Lange (1936)

Deconica coprophila Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate or decurrent
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is purple-brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is not recommended

Taxonomy

First described as Agaricus coprophilus by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard in 1793,^[3] it was transferred to the genus Psilocybe by Paul Kummer in 1871.^[4]

In the first decade of the 2000s, several molecular studies showed that the Psilocybe was polyphyletic^[5][6][7] and the non-bluing (non-hallucinogenic) species were transferred to Deconica.^[8]

Description

The hemispherical cap is up to 2.5 centimetres (1 in) wide, red then orangish, usually with a hygrophanous central blotch. The gills are adnate, pale then purplish with white edges.^[9]

The stem is up to 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) long and 3 millimetres (1⁄8 in) thick and darker near the base. The spore print is purplish-brown.^[9]

Similar species

It resembles D. merdaria, Agrocybe pediades, Panaeolus cinctulus, and members of Protostropharia.^[9]

Habitat and distribution

The species grows on cattle dung^[10] in much of North America (generally from July to September; December to May on the West Coast).^[9]

Potential uses

While non-toxic, the species is not a good edible mushroom.^[11] It only contains a small amount of psilocybin and is thus not a significantly psychoactive mushroom.^[2]