ERRATUM: For Panaeolus subalteatus read Panaeolus subbalteatus 
throughout. 
The Washington Blue Veil is now considered a new species, 
hitherto undescribed, and has recently been named P. Stuntzii 
Guzman and Ott (21). 
The Washington Blue Veil fruited heavily in the region 
around Olympia in the fall of 1974. Again, greenhouse bark 
mulches seemed responsible for transmitting it to new loca- 
tions. College students in the area use it frequently. As yet, the 
mushroom is not reported from Oregon, but it has been col- 
lected in Vancouver, British Columbia (22). On a weight basis 
the Washington Blue Veil is less potent than the Eugene 
Psilocybe. Washington collectors who have tried both it and 
the Liberty Cap rate those two species as equally desirable. 
One more psilocybin-containing species is in widespread use 
in the Pacific Northwest. It is in the genus Panaeolus , a black- 
spored group of coprophilic mushrooms. Hallucinogenic 
species of Panaeolus have been reported in such diverse places 
as Oaxaca, Maine, Hawaii, (23), and Colombia (24), but there is 
considerable taxonomic uncertainty about their identity. A 
number of inactive members of the genus also grow throughout 
North America. 
The active Panaeolus of the Pacific Northwest has a cap 0.5 
to 4.0 cm. broad, hemispherical when young, becoming 
broadly expanded with characteristic cracks. It is tan to red- 
dish brown, often with a distinctive dark zone around the 
margin. A veil is absent. The gills are reddish brown or reddish 
gray when young, becoming mottled with gray or black, even- 
tually black. The stipe is 1-5 mm. thick, hollow, stringy, verti- 
cally grooved at the top, covered with a whitish deposit when 
young. This mushroom occurs in groups or clusters in open 
grassy places with cow manure, on compost, and on rotting 
hay. It is found throughout the Willamette Valley in western 
Oregon and in western Washington from early spring through 
fall, after rains. I have never seen this species exhibit blueing, 
but experienced collectors say that one ina hundred specimens 
may show blue at the base of the stipe; this coloration is nota 
response to injury. Specimens which I collected near Albany, 
Oregon in April of 1974 have been identified by Ola’h as 
Panaeolus subalteatus Berk. & Br. (25). 
Many Oregonians have tried Panaeolus subalteatus because 
this mushroom grows plentifully in the most populated areas of 
the state, especially in the vicinity of Oregon State University 
at Corvallis, and because it grows throughout more of the year 
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