Regarding fungi, there are more than 2.5 million species estimated worldwide, in a variety of habitats ranging from the arctic to the jungles, and even in the deserts and oceans; however, only around 5% of these fungi are documented. Fungi that have a particularly important relationship to man are the edible, medicinal, and sacred species, those used in industry and agriculture, and those that are parasitic of plants, animals and man. Further scientific studies of these organisms are important, including those used centuries ago by man.
The sacred mushrooms, identified as teonanacatl (mushrooms of God) by Sahagun in 1555, were rediscovered by science in the 1950s in Mexico and, in spite of some great research work conducted on them, there is still much to be learned about these mysterious organisms. This website presents some of the main topics of these interesting and rare fungi, the sacred mushrooms that, curiously, stain blue and have a large distribution throughout the humid, temperate and tropical regions of the world. Profiles of persons and their relevant importance to the sacred mushrooms, such as Maria Sabina and Albert Hofmann, are presented here, as well as descriptions and paintings of some of the main species of the teonanacatl family, including Psilocybe cubensis, P. subcubensis, P. mexicana, P. hoogshagenii, P. aztecorum, P. zapotecorum, and many others. This website is a welcome resource for increasing knowledge about these blue-staining fungi.
--Dr. Gaston Guzman
Xalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico
28 May 1999
Maria Sabina Profile | Albert Hofmann Profile
Andrew Weil Profile | Psilocybe cubensis Profile
Psilocybe hoogshagenii Profile | Psilocybe mexicana Profile
Psilocybe muliercula Profile | Psilocybe zapotecorum Profile
Quanah Parker/Peyote Profile
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