# Psilocybe semilanceata
**Psilocybe semilanceata**, commonly known as the liberty cap, is a small mushroom of the genus *Psilocybe* that contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin and grows in temperate grasslands across Europe and North America. It is one of the most widely distributed psilocybin mushrooms in the [Northern Hemisphere](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-hemisphere) and the most commonly encountered psychedelic mushroom growing naturally in Britain.[1](https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A4f23083c-9114-4788-9bab-2daf652c79e1/files/m1a8729de8e2d01e287276da7d935d4ca) • [2](https://misc.nysno.se/static/Flood-Psilocybin_Science_and_Spirituality.pdf) The conical cap with a pointed umbo (the small raised bump at the center of a mushroom cap) resembles the [Phrygian cap](https://www.edgepedia.org/phrygian-cap) of the [French Revolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-revolution), which gives the species its English name.[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Psilocybe semilanceata* (Fr.) P. Kumm., 1871; basionym *Agaricus semilanceatus* Fr., 1818[4](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/namesrecord.asp?RecordID=232492) |
| Common names | Liberty cap (English), psilocybe lancéolé (French), Spitzkegeliger Kahlkopf (German), spiss fleinsopp (Norwegian)[5](https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/PSCYSE) • [6](https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=265955b9-15a0-4009-8a30-b4c306152a24) • [7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/) |
| Cap size | 5–25 mm in diameter, conical to lanceolate, with a persistent pointed umbo[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata) |
| Habitat | Nutrient-rich grassland in autumn; grows in grasslands and meadows from southernmost tips to mountain lands of the north[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/) • [2](https://misc.nysno.se/static/Flood-Psilocybin_Science_and_Spirituality.pdf) |
| Alkaloid content | Psilocybin 0.33–15.77 μg/mg and psilocin 0.1–3.88 μg/mg dry weight in fungarium specimens[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9764976/) |
| Toxicity | Poisonous; symptoms typically begin 20 to 60 minutes after intake and include hallucinations, restlessness, and confusion[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/) |
| Conservation (Germany) | Least concern; moderately common, long-term trend constant, short-term trend strong decrease[6](https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=265955b9-15a0-4009-8a30-b4c306152a24) |
## Taxonomy and naming
The species was first published by Elias Magnus Fries as *Agaricus semilanceatus* in 1818, and Paul Kummer transferred it to the genus *Psilocybe* in 1871, giving the current name *Psilocybe semilanceata* (Fr.) P. Kumm.[4](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/namesrecord.asp?RecordID=232492) • [9](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?name=psilocybe+semilanceata) Synonyms include *Panaeolus semilanceatus* (Fr.) J.E. Lange, an illegitimate name, and *Geophila semilanceata*.[9](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?name=psilocybe+semilanceata) • [10](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.946914/Psilocybe_semilanceata)
The species has a central role in the genus's nomenclature. Redhead and colleagues proposed in 2007 to split the genus and conserve the name *Psilocybe* for the psychedelic species, represented by the type species *Psilocybe semilanceata*, while transferring the remaining non-psychedelic species to *Deconica*.[11](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.813998/full)
Family placement varies among databases: the Natural History Museum, NatureServe, and EPPO list Strophariaceae, while Index Fungorum and NCBI place the species in Agrocybaceae, and the Georgian Biodiversity Database uses Hymenogastraceae.[12](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/hierarchy?orgKey=NBNORG0000016809) • [4](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/namesrecord.asp?RecordID=232492) • [13](https://biodiversity.iliauni.edu.ge/en/species/5100) All agree on the higher-level placement in Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, and [Agaricales](https://www.edgepedia.org/agaricales).[12](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/hierarchy?orgKey=NBNORG0000016809)
## Description
*Psilocybe semilanceata* is a small fruiter. The cap is 5–25 mm in diameter at maturity, distinctly conical to lanceolate in profile, with a small pointed umbo that persists at the apex; this shape gives the species its common name.[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata) The Norwegian poison information service describes the cap as bell-shaped with a pointed umbo, 1–2 cm high and 1–1.5 cm wide, grayish-yellow to pale brown, with dark gills.[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/) The stipe is slender and wiry, typically 40–100 mm tall and often flexuous rather than straight;[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata) the Norwegian description gives 4–9 cm height and 0.1–0.2 cm thickness, pale in color.[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/)
The species is difficult to identify and can be confused with other fungi, including wood-tufting species; the Norwegian poison center notes it has several poisonous lookalikes.[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/)
## Habitat and distribution
The liberty cap grows in autumn in nutrient-rich grassland and is common in Norway as far north as Troms.[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/) In the Northern Hemisphere it is the most widely distributed psilocybin mushroom, found in grasslands and meadows from the southernmost tips to the mountain lands of the north.[2](https://misc.nysno.se/static/Flood-Psilocybin_Science_and_Spirituality.pdf) Its native range extends across the [British Isles](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-isles), Scandinavia, and parts of North America.[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata) NatureServe records documented distribution in Canadian provinces including [British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-columbia), New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, with a global status of GNR (unranked).[10](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.946914/Psilocybe_semilanceata)
In Germany the species is assessed as least concern on the national Red List, with a population described as moderately common, a constant long-term trend, and a strong short-term decrease.[6](https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=265955b9-15a0-4009-8a30-b4c306152a24)
## Chemistry and potency
Psilocybin is the major constituent contributing to the hallucinogenic effect of the mushroom.[14](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378434797001278) In an analysis of European mushroom samples, *Psilocybe semilanceata* and *[Panaeolus subbalteatus](https://www.edgepedia.org/panaeolus-cinctulus)* emerged as the sole psilocybin-bearing species harvestable across Central and [Northern Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-europe) in amounts large enough for misuse.[14](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378434797001278) The species contains psilocybin, baeocystin, and other indoles in every fruit body.[15](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015379686800798)
Alkaloid content varies widely between specimens. DNA-authenticated fungarium specimens of *P. semilanceata* contained psilocybin ranging from 0.33 to 15.77 μg/mg dry weight and psilocin from 0.1 to 3.88 μg/mg dry weight.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9764976/) A review of chemical composition reports the highest psilocybin levels across the genus in *P. cubensis* and *P. semilanceata*, both with a maximum content of 2.02% dry weight.[16](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12299699/) Specimen age was poorly correlated with alkaloid quantity in the fungarium study, although specimens older than 20 years of *P. semilanceata* had barely detectable levels of the indole alkaloids.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9764976/)
## Poisoning
The Norwegian poison information service classifies the liberty cap as a poisonous mushroom containing the toxin psilocybin. Symptoms usually appear 20 to 60 minutes after intake, whether the mushroom is raw, cooked, or dried; common symptoms are hallucinations, restlessness, and confusion, and the mushroom can trigger psychoses.[7](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/)
A frequently cited early case is a 1799 London family incident recorded in the *Medical and Physical Journal*, often described as the first documented modern account of a psilocybin experience with wild-collected liberty caps, though the attribution to *P. semilanceata* specifically is retrospective.[3](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata)
## References
1. [The Cap of Liberty: Roman slavery, cultural memory, and magic, Oxford Research Archive](https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A4f23083c-9114-4788-9bab-2daf652c79e1/files/m1a8729de8e2d01e287276da7d935d4ca)
2. [Flood, Psilocybin: Science and Spirituality](https://misc.nysno.se/static/Flood-Psilocybin_Science_and_Spirituality.pdf)
3. [Liberty Cap, psilocybea Codex Entry No. 042](https://www.psilocybea.com/strains/psilocybe-semilanceata)
4. [Index Fungorum Name Record 232492, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/namesrecord.asp?RecordID=232492)
5. [Psilocybe semilanceata (PSCYSE), EPPO Global Database](https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/PSCYSE)
6. [Rote Liste Zentrum: Psilocybe semilanceata (Germany)](https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=265955b9-15a0-4009-8a30-b4c306152a24)
7. [Spiss fleinsopp er en giftig sopp, Helsenorge / Norwegian Poison Information Centre](https://www.helsenorge.no/en/poison-information/sopp/spiss-fleinsopp-er-en-giftig-sopp/)
8. [DNA Authentication and Chemical Analysis of Psilocybe Mushrooms Reveal Widespread Misdeterminations in Fungaria and Inconsistencies in Metabolites, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9764976/)
9. [NCBI Taxonomy Browser: Psilocybe semilanceata](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?name=psilocybe+semilanceata)
10. [Psilocybe semilanceata, NatureServe Explorer](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.946914/Psilocybe_semilanceata)
11. [An Overview on the Taxonomy, Phylogenetics and Ecology of the Psychedelic Genera Psilocybe, Panaeolus, Pluteus and Gymnopilus, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (2022)](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.813998/full)
12. [Taxonomic hierarchy for Psilocybe semilanceata, Natural History Museum UK Species Dictionary](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/uk-species/hierarchy?orgKey=NBNORG0000016809)
13. [Psilocybe semilanceata, Georgian Biodiversity Database, Ilia State University](https://biodiversity.iliauni.edu.ge/en/species/5100)
14. [Determination of psilocybin in Psilocybe semilanceata by capillary zone electrophoresis, ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378434797001278)
15. [Quantitative Bestimmung der Indolderivate von Psilocybe semilanceata (Fr.) Kumm., ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015379686800798)
16. [Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Psilocybe Mushrooms: Gaps and Perspectives, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12299699/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Microorganisms and fungi › Fungi and mycology › Basidiomycete taxa › Mushrooms and humans › Psychoactive mushrooms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license