The other day, I had an insta message from someone asking me which of my spores were psilocybe cubensis, which confused the fuck outta me for a moment, because most of them are. I then realised I'd fallen into the same hole that I have frequently stumbled into throughout most of my life, which is that I often assume because I know something, so does everybody else.

It's easy when you're immersed in the deep end of something to assume that the layman would at least get the starter bits, but actually, why the fuck would they if it's their first time buying spores? Not everyone reads every word on a website, and whilst I do mention it in places, I could probably make it a little more obvious (which is what I'm going to do when I finish this blog post). 

So, just to make it a bit easier, and give me a handy article to link to rather than type it all out again when someone else asks the same question, here's what's what:

Spore Syringes

All of the spores in the "Spore Syringe" category are the species Psilocybe cubensis. These belong to the Psilocybe genus of mushroom, which means they are all spores that, if you lived somewhere that it was legal to grow them, would grow into the kind of mushroom that makes reality go rather fizzy at the edges. There's lot of different types in the category on the website, because these (and I know I've written about this before) are all different phenotypes. That means they're all essentially different genetic expressions of what a P cubensis can become. I actually saw a comment on Reddit the other day about this (I couldn't really respond as it sailed a little too close to the wind for my liking), but these genetic expressions aren't necessarily set in stone. Despite what some unscrupulous spore vendors might try to pretend, there's no (feasible) way to "isolate" a spore syringe, as when you make a spore syringe you're grabbing a random selection of spores from a spore print of that phenotype. This random handful have varied properties, in exactly the same way that siblings do. This means two squirts from the same syringe could well produce different looking mushrooms as the genetic material that meets up, pairs, and begins producing fruiting bodies will be unique. Just like two squirts from the same pecker, I guess. Yeah, I couldn't hold that one in much longer because it honestly is the best analogy to help the newer hobbyists understand: big ol' splashes of spaff. 

This is a cool thing, because it means we can create new and interesting phenotypes quite rapidly due to both A) the relatively short timescale between genetic pairing and sporulation, and B) the genetic instability of mushrooms meaning that mutation is as likely as not. This combo is what drives the weirdness in the mycology world, because you can spend as little a year and come up with something no-one's ever seen before, with a bit of careful science.

These little lads will even happily grow in the wild! Nice one Psilocybe cubensis!

Exotic Spore Syringes

Ooh-la-la! There's something about the word "exotic" that seems to trigger a Moulin Rouge kinda response in me, where I feel the need to type "ooh-la-la". Probably should get that checked out.

The exotic spore syringe category are not Psilocybe cubensis, but most of them are still part of the Psilocybe genus, such as Psilocybe natalensis (likely Psilocybe ochraceocentrata, but just read the page to save me having to type all that confusing bollocks out again), Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata, and Psilocybe tampanensis. There's also Panaeolus cyanescens in there, because it's not just Psilocybe mushrooms that possess such amazing alkaloids!

I've got a much smaller range of these, mainly because they're a little trickier to see under the microscope, so although I think they're great and that you should give them a shot, you're probably better off getting your technique dialled in a bit before having a crack at these. Or not, fuck it, it's not like they're a thousand quid, is it?

Ooh-la-oh-never-mind

Spore Swabs

The spore swabs! This ties in really directly with what I've written about the first category and I swear to god that's a happy accident. All that stuff I wrote up there about how the ability to create weird new stuff? This is that. This is what happens when someone fucks about with a Psilocybe cubensis until it barely resembles the original form. These mushrooms don't drop any meaningful amount of spores due to them being the mushroom equivalent of a pedigree dog/cat - they can't run properly or their noses are all fucked up and they struggle to give birth naturally and suchlike. The pets, not the mushrooms, obvs. That's where the analogy ends because the mycelium is totally fine, unlike the pets.

These mushrooms, in the wild, would be a genetic dead end. We get around that with swabs! You can jam a swab up into the gills and swizzle it around a bit. You're not going to get anywhere near as many spores as you would from a spore print, but you will get enough to be viable. Sometimes I've been asked "can you not make a spore syringe of these for me", and that actually shows that someone isn't at the knowledge level required to be purchasing swabs, as they've not done enough reading on the subject. This isn't a cuss, but it is a sort of diagnostic that's useful. I'll explain: Due to the much lower amount of spores involved, and the much harder delivery method of what is essentially a rag on a stick, it's a whole extra rank of difficulty. It's Hard Mode +. Even if you know what you're doing, it can still result in failure, because it's a sub-optimal way of spreading the genetics. We don't want this to be difficult for difficulty's sake (it's not a video game), so if there were any other method of gathering the spores, we'd be doing it! 

Yeah these fuckers killed me

Well there you go. That's everything cleared up in a nice accessible way, with only one jizz joke, which is a new record. Hope it's useful, all the best, thanks again for reading, and have a great day!