Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 26, 2012

Psilocybe aztecorum is a species of psilocybin mushroom in the Strophariaceae family. Known only from central Mexico, the fungus grows on decomposing woody debris, and is found in mountainous areas at elevations of 3,200 to 4,000 m (10,500 to 13,100 ft), typically in meadows or open, grassy forests associated with Hartweg's Pine. The mushrooms have convex to bell-shaped caps 1.5–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) in diameter, set atop slender cylindrical stems that are up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) long. The color of the caps changes with variations in hydration, and ranges from dark chestnut brown to straw yellow or whitish when dry. The species was first reported by French mycologist Roger Heim in 1956 as a variety of Psilocybe mexicana before he officially described it under its current name a year later. Named for its association with the Aztec people, P. aztecorum may have been one of the sacred mushroom species, or teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods"), reported in the codices of 16th-century Spanish chronicler Bernardino de Sahagún. The mushrooms are still used for spiritual ceremonies by Nahuatl Indians in the Popocatépetl region, although this traditional usage is waning. (Full article...)

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