Rocky Mountain Cubensis (not)

[moniker]

So at various places on the internet I have heard people say that rocky mountain mushrooms are a myth and there is little chance that cubes can grow in a place such as Colorado.. posts such as this one that I pulled of the net...

The Colorado Cube is an enigma.

Rumors of cubes growing in the Rocky Mountain West are common. Unfortunately, there is no hard evidence to support these rumors. The stories of wild cubes in the Rocky Mountain West are likely stem from cultivators who use the story to disguise their grow op. Western cultivators may simply tell friends that they know how to find cubes in a cow pasture (especially FRESH cubes), instead of saying, "HEY! I GROW THESE MYSELF! I HAVE A COLLECTION OF PRINTS, SYRINGES AND JARS! I HAVE A MARTHA, AN ULTRASONIC AND A PC!!!!"

Ralphster from www.ralphstersspores.com swears he was told the spores came from Colorado, but it is extremely unlikely the person who gave Ralph the original spores was telling the whole story. Without a great deal of human intervention, cubes would struggle to grow outdoors in Colorado's cold and dry, high altitude climate. Due to long winters, the potential wild cube growing season in Colorado is very short. This warm season is often very dry and also, too hot for cubes. While not entirely impossible, Colorado's conditions are simply not optimal for cubes. Not even in a good year.

If the Colorado Cube really is from Colorado, it was likely gathered from a cultivator's well tended outdoor (or even indoor) patch... or a farm animal ate some shrooms in the Gulf Coast region and was quickly transported to Colorado where it pooped the spores out at the perfect time of the year for cube growth.

A true Colorado cube would likely show some interesting microscopic traits, for example a Colorado cube should have unusually large spores. The further a native cube is from the equator, the larger the spores tend to be. If any such research has been done with the Colorado's spores, it is not readily available.

Ralph was told the Colorado is from Colorado. He believes what he was told. There is little evidence to dispute or support the story... but it is more than likely someone told Ralph a lie or at the very least, unknowingly stretched the truth.

It doesn't really matter if the Colorado cube really came from Colorado. It still makes for quite an interesting story.

So I am out to prove them wrong....

Last month I picked a single very small specimen of Cubensis off a pile of cow dung at an an elevation of approximately 11,600ft.

I then germinated the spores on agar...
The strain grows incredibly fast... and I already have my first tiny shroom growing on agar with many more to come....

I will update the pics as more come along soon

 

[Ice House]

HA! Really?

is there a punch line here?

If you are out to prove them wrong, you are not going to do it with the specimen in the picture.


You're killing me!

LoL

 

[moniker]

I have one growing and more to come....

The image on the bottom is a baby one growing on agar, germinated from the spores taken from this laughable specimen...

Whether this constitutes actual scientifically verifiable proof or not I will continue to update photos of the project for those who may be interested in my efforts to domesticate this wild mountain strain.

Stay tuned for more pics of my progress..:d (for those interested)

If this is indeed a cube strain as I am proposing it is then just think of the advantages .....especially the ability to grow and produce in very low temps and at very high altitudes in a relatively short time

 

[moniker]

And so as it turns out the specimen I collected is definitely not Cubensis.

After seeing them grow they are definitely strange looking......

Looks like they are one of these

Panaeolus antillarum - Wikipedia

or

Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Don't think I'll be eating those.

Oh well. Live and learn I suppose. I was only able to collect this one specimen because I believe I arrived a bit too late in the season.

I will just have to wait until next year to go back and try to collect the correct type.

 

[Ice House]

And so as it turns out the specimen I collected is definitely not Cubensis.

:shock:

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Its not?

What brought you to that conclusion? Was it the 10,000'+ elevation where it was found or the fact that it was found in Colorado, or was it the fact that it looks nothing like a cube

Good luck and be safe on your wild goose chase.

IH

 

[Ancotar]

Hey, I really hope you can find one, but as IH indicated, the chances may be very slim, but I've seen way weirder things happen so I say good luck to you on the search!

What I was pleased most of all to read was that you did your research on the specimens before consuming them, and after doing said research, you found while they are not deadly, they are not very good for you either!

Thank you for doing this.

This just shows me that the Nexus is doing it's job in making sure that people are being safe and sane when it comes to collecting wild entheogen specimens.

Again, thank you for using safe practices.

 

[moniker]

Thanks Ancotar..


I have some growing in my closet right now and they are sort of ugly/extra slimy and nauseating looking...
They just don't look like happy little shrooms


I'll take some pics of the project before I throw them away and I'll post em up here.

 

[moniker]

:|

 

[Entheogenerator]

When fruit bodies grow unusually long and skinny, it often indicates a lack of adequate light. Almost as if they are stretching upwards in a futile attempt to get closer to the sun... Give the poor guys some more light man!

 

[Entheogenerator]

I have seen great results using a fluorescent plant light hung about 1.5-2.5 feet above the fruiting mycelium.

 

[moniker]

When fruit bodies grow unusually long and skinny, it often indicates a lack of adequate light. Almost as if they are stretching upwards in a futile attempt to get closer to the sun... Give the poor guys some more light man!

You read the whole thread right?

I actually gave them as much light as I would normally give cubes but they grew all weird.....

probably because they are all weird.....

 

[Entheogenerator]

Oh sorry. I misunderstood. I realized you figured out the wild mushrooms were not cubensis. But I thought the ones you had growing were cubensis, not the other species. My mistake.

 

[fourthripley]

Don't be too hard on yourself; you sucessfully cultivated a mushroom taken from the wild to fruiting. Cube or not, your mycology skills are pretty good

 

[moniker]

Oh sorry. I misunderstood. I realized you figured out the wild mushrooms were not cubensis. But I thought the ones you had growing were cubensis, not the other species. My mistake.

No problemo...


Fourthriplay wrote:

Don't be too hard on yourself; you sucessfully cultivated a mushroom taken from the wild to fruiting. Cube or not, your mycology skills are pretty goodSmile

Right on thanks.....

I might as well post some pics of some actual Cubensis that I have grown........

This is Burmese Yangoon from some recent crops.

 

[run-DMT]

Namaste

Great post!

Personally(but what do I know), I applaud your courage, and willingness to experiment. Too often, I think, people have apprehension about true innovation, because if it's not broken, don't fix it right?

I live close to the majestic Rockies myself, and have gone on long hikes in obscure areas way off the beaten path suggested by hiking afficionados, but my treks always turned up short. I always thought it was always a result of my intent. Don Juan from Casteneda's books always talked about intent. The truth is that regardless of what people think or feel on this subject, mushrooms absolutely require warm temperatures and a huge amount of moisture. Unfortunately, they just won't grow in my neighborhood. I always met some dude that claimed he found huge, moist, beautiful caps in the hills surrounding our neighborhood. It always sounded a little far-fetched...but anything is possible.

That's why I quickly gave up on ever procuring mushrooms myself, and moved on to more dangerous easier to obtain garbage substances like_______________________. :roll:

Stumbling onto this website has conceived a whole new outlook for this "enigma" I call life.
For myself, the knowledge had always been obtainable, and the materials for home cultivation absolutely available at little or no cost, completely safe to use without designing a "clandestine science lab," and will produce results that will blow my mind. Or so I am told.
I have yet to actually try it myself.

While some of the reports from the internet have conflicting information, and remains obscure, I decided I would ask the Nexus with pure intent, and allow the universe to decide how the sages' will answer.

If I order a spore syringe for psilocybe cubensis from a reputable vendor that was suggested to me, will I be breaking the law when I open what was delivered to my home address?
I understand using proper precautions when ordering anything online, but the option of a tertiary address is just impossible. Please advise me how to proceed.

Best Regards

 

[dreamer042]

Mushroom spores are 100% legal in the United States (except for Georgia, Idaho, and California where are are specifically listed as illegal) because they contain no psilocybin or psilocin.

Remember spore vendors sell spores "for microscopy purposes only" so as long as you are buying them with that intention all is fine and legal. Now if you were to do something nefarious like use them to grow your own mushrooms, you might be breaking a law (though in New Mexico cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms for personal use has been deemed legal).

Of course you would never use spores intended for microscopy for illicit purposes, now would you? :twisted:

 

[universecannon]

(though in New Mexico cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms for personal use has been deemed legal)

saywut?!?

Well what are we waiting for? Alert Kikker! Lets build the colony!!!

 

[spinCycle]

It is possible for cubes to grow outdoors in the high rockies. I have seen them in a friends garden when old played out beds were used for garden compost and some very robust volunteers made their appearance between the zucchini.

As to whether they can weather over a winter and produce viable feral offspring for multiple years, that is another matter.