Shroom Science: How Strong is the Average Magic Mushroom? 🔍🍄

The average magic mushroom contains around 1% psilocybin, psilocin, & baeocystin combined. The potency can vary from 0.1% to nearly 3% depending on the species and growing conditions.

Oct 24, 2023

The term “magic mushroom” is used to describe any mushroom with psychedelic effects. There are more than 180 species of mushrooms that fit this description.

However, when most people talk about magic mushrooms, they’re referring to just one species — Psilocybe cubensis — of which there are hundreds of individual subtypes or “strains.”

The active ingredients of all magic mushrooms include both psilocybin and psilocin. Some scientists also include baeocystin on this list, but its effects are much weaker, and it’s only ever present in trace amounts.

So, how strong is the average magic mushroom?

The best way to measure the potency of a magic mushroom is to measure the combined total of psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin. The combination of these active ingredients is referred to as the “total tryptamine level.”

Here are the average tryptamines of magic mushrooms based on samples submitted to competitions like the Psilocybin Cup, as well as independent analysis over the past 4 years:

The average magic mushroom species contains around 0.9% to 1.2% total tryptamines — This puts species like Panaeolus cambodginiensis (1.15%), Psilocybe tampanensis (1.00%), and Psilocybe weilii (0.88%) as the most average psychedelic members of the group.
The average Psilocybe cubensis strains contain around 0.60% to 0.90% total tryptamines — Strains with total tryptamine levels in this range include Acadian Coast, Albino A+, Jack Frost, Golden Teachers, and Koh Samui.

It’s important to note that the psychoactive ingredients of magic mushrooms vary substantially from one sample to the next. These figures are based on as much analytical data as we have available — but we admit these findings are not conclusive.

Factors like growing conditions, time of the year, storage conditions, and individual epigenetic factors all play a role in how potent a given magic mushroom sample is.

There Are Hundreds of Species of Magic Mushrooms

Psilocybin and psilocin have been detected in over 180 different species of mushrooms, panning at least 10 separate genera and 7 families.

Psychedelic mushroom genera include Psilocybe (~95 species), Panaeolus (~13 species), Gymnopilus (11 species), Pluteus (4 species), Conocybe (4 species), Inocybe (3 species), Pholiotina (2 species), Panaeolina (4 species), Panaeolopsis (4 species), and more.

Other species of mushrooms — such as Amanita muscaria (the fly agaric mushroom) — are psychoactive too, but operate through an entirely different active ingredient called muscimol. This compound produces unique psychedelic and oneirogenic effects that differ from the characteristic hallucinogenic qualities of psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Psilocybe cubensis Strains

Psilocybe cubensis (AKA “Cubes”) are the most common and popular species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

This mushroom species prefers growing in tropical and subtropical climates but is also extremely easy to cultivate indoors. This ease of cultivation is the main reason why this mushroom is so popular today (most species are hard to grow or produce very low yields).

Cubes are the species you’re most likely to come across if you know someone who grows magic mushrooms or buy them from street vendors.

The true number of Psilocybe cubensis strains is nearly impossible to know. Our database contains 268 individual strains, but new ones are created all the time. Many professional growers maintain their own private stocks which are not available publically.

Some strains were discovered in the wild and have been domesticated; others are the result of meticulous cross-cultivation — a process where two genetic samples are combined to create strains with entirely new traits.

Fresh Psilocybe cubensis typically contains about 1.23% total tryptamines. Psilocin is unstable, so as soon as the mushrooms are dried, levels drop off dramatically. Psilocybin and baeocystin are much more stable and will remain (mostly) intact after drying.

Most of the Psilocybe cubensis found on the street contain somewhere between 0.5% and 0.9% total tryptamines. The tryptamine profile in dried mushrooms mostly consists of psilocybin with trace amounts of baeocystin and psilocin.

Penis Envy is a good example of a high-performance strain developed through cross-cultivation. This strain produces abnormally high psilocybin levels (0.95% on average) and displays unique visual characteristics (a distinct phallic shape).

Typical Psilocybe cubensis strains, such as Golden Teacher or Koh Samui, have an average psilocybin level of around 0.70% with an additional combined psilocin and baeocystin level of around 0.1%.

List of Psilocybe cubensis Strains With an “Average” Potency

We maintain a massive and constantly evolving database of mushroom strains. We’ve compiled dozens of individual studies, including the past 4 years of Psilocybin Cup data, to rank and categorize each strain.

Here are the strains that consistently demonstrate potencies considered “average” (between 0.6% to 0.9% combined psilocybin and psilocin):

Species vs. Strains: What’s the Difference?

We’ve talked a lot about magic mushroom species and magic mushroom strains — but what, exactly makes them different?

Species refers to a grouping of individual organisms that can reproduce together. For example, all Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms can be bred together to produce viable offspring, but Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe azurescens cannot.

Strains are subgroups of mushrooms with distinct growth patterns or chemical composition within a given species. Strains may produce differences in color, size, and potency.

What is the Most Potent Species of Magic Mushroom?

The most potent species of psilocybin-containing mushroom is Psilocybe azurescens.

This species has produced the highest percentages of psilocybin out of all currently documented magic mushroom species across numerous tests.

Some samples of Psilocybe azurescens have demonstrated psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin percentages as high as 2.16% — that’s roughly 3 times the potency of the average Psilocybe cubensis mushroom.

What is the Most Potent Strain of Magic Mushroom?

According to the most recent Psilocybin Cup results, a strain called “Tidal Wave” was listed as the most potent strain ever entered. The total tryptamine level for this sample sits at a whopping 3.82% — nearly five times the average for this species. It’s extremely rare for mushrooms to exceed 2% in these tests — so this sample was nothing short of miraculous.

So far, only one sample of Tidal Wave has ever tested this high. The average across 8 samples for this strain was still impressive — but a more modest 1.17%.

The second strongest strain ever tested in the competition goes to the “Fuzzy Balls strain” — which contained 3% total tryptamines. This is followed by Penis Envy in third place with 2.9%.

Keep in mind the amount of psilocybin and psilocin varies substantially from one harvest to another, and the samples listed above were grown by professionals under optimal conditions. The potency of these mushrooms grown in a home lab or from over-the-counter grow kits is likely to be much lower.

Penis Envy Mushrooms: Strongest Mushroom on Average

While the Tidal Wave sample from the Spring 2021 competition blows everything else out of the water, the most consistently strong mushroom strain is Penis Envy.

There’s a common saying in the mushroom cultivation community — “a cube is a cube except for Penis Envy.”

This saying comes from the fact that the Penis Envy genetics appears to be in another league from everything else. They’re stronger, and grow in a uniquely phallic shape — featuring small, underdeveloped caps and thick stalks.

It’s not uncommon for amateur growers to produce Penis Envy mushrooms that achieve upwards of 1.65% total tryptamine levels. That’s more than 2 times what you can expect from your average Psilocybe cubensis strain.

Over the years, breeders have combined the Penis Envy genetics with other strains to produce brand new, high-performance mushroom strains. A few examples include Albino Penis Envy, Penis Envy #6, Penis Envy Uncut, Melmac, Trinity, Tidal Wave, Sheppards Penis Envy, Old Dirty Penis Envy, Trans Envy, and White Rabbit.

How Can Growers Boost The Potency of Their Mushrooms?

In general, there are 3 conditions that affect the potency of a magic mushroom. Taking steps to optimize each condition will allow growers to yield the strongest mushrooms possible:

The strain or species used — In order to get the most potent mushrooms, you have to start with above-average genetics.
Growing conditions & substrate — Mushrooms grown in climate-controlled growing chambers, using nutritionally dense substrates (such as manure) tend to produce the most tryptamines. Some growers even supplement tryptamines into their substrate to coax higher psilocybin and psilocin production.
Storage conditions — Mushrooms need to be dried gently, without being exposed to heat, UV light, or temperature fluctuations. The longer your shrooms remain in storage, the weaker they become.

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