Africa’s Psilocybe species rewrites the mushroom’s evolutionary origin
Scientists describe Psilocybe ochraceocentrata from Africa as the closest wild relative of Psilocybe cubensis, pushing their common ancestor back about 1.5 million years and challenging the idea that the magic mushroom spread globally after cattle movement; the study also clarifies mislabeled cultivation strains, highlights Africa’s under-sampled fungal diversity, and suggests dung-based ecology and grassland migrations shaped their history, while noting that the birthplace remains unresolved pending more specimens.
