Reply #23: Stropharia or Psilocybe cubensis...

[amazona]

This is the classic shroom, and it does indeed grow in cow pats, at least in the Gulf Coast area. It has stimulant as well as visionary properties, which can account for the agitation that people sometimes report, especially if they panic. I knew it grew in my Parish but when checking for the spelling of the Latin name on the internet, I just learned that it grows all over the Gulf Coast wherever cows are found. I have just been informed that:

"Thanks to the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), a colonizer of Old World origin (via S. America), spores of this mushroom are carried for vast distances, thereby infecting virgin pastures. The Cattle Egret first appeared in Texas in 1955 and is now an abundant resident of Gulf Coast pastures, as is Psilocybe cubensis. The relationship between cattle, cattle egrets, and Psilocybe cubensis is an example of symbiosis -- a situation in which dissimilar organisms live together in close association. Cattle egrets are fond of hitching rides on the backs of cows where they make easy prey of swarming insects ."

The Cattle Egret is a handsome white insect eating bird (with orange plumes in breeding season) which does not compete with our native Egrets (and can roost with them in peace in their rookeries). This bird introduced itself to the Americas in the mid-20th century, spreading across North, Central, and South America, quickly

I got this cool theory from this web page:

http://www.stainblue.com/cubensis.html