Semperviva Lives!!!

[Workman]

This thread is a bit premature but I am so relieved I just had to post.

I was prompted by Prankster to look at my Psilocybe semperviva spores (aka Psilocybe hoogshagenii var. convexa) in cold storage. The last time I grew this species was in 2002 and when I opened up the prints I realized how few spores I actually had. Tiny light partial prints that might now be dead after over 5 years in storage. These prints were generated from the original Heim collection from the 1950's and are almost irreplaceable. I felt sick that through my neglect I had lost this species.

Fortunately, all plates germinated well and are well on their way to being transfered to substrates for grow out. And now I know that I can safely store spores of this species for at least 5 years.

I feel so much better And now we dance!!!

[the_chosen_one]

[aumbrellaforainydays]

wow cool workman. its always exciting to see rare strains being cultivated. so they should look like these?:
77295-PIC00005.jpg
elektrolurch's semperviva's

[Workman]

That is correct. Those mushrooms were generated from the same spore stock. But after reviewing my collection notes it seems I also have a wild collection as well. So two plates of classic sempervivas and one plate of wild spores that may also be the same species. All are growing nicely.

I'm going to dig into my old photos for some of the specimens I produced. They aren't as nice as those but apparently thats because I used grass seed instead of straw.

[Algiz]

Glad to hear you haven't lost this fine species

[prankster]

Great . Im happy that you work on it , thats so nice mushrooms. I hope that will generate an new spore source for the community.

This is the source where the original cultures come from

DSMZ - Fungus: Psilocybe semperviva

I think Elektrolurch buyed them from B.I.O

[Workman]

Yes, that is also right. B.I.O. was purchasing all sorts of DSMZ material but only the semperviva proved fruitable. I got my material directly from B.I.O. and was able to fruit it fairly easily but the fruits were small and it never dropped much in the way of spores. Elektrolurch broke the code and found that large sporey fruits could be generated from pasturized straw. Something I need to try now.

[prankster]

Heim and Hofmann also grow them on straw/compost mixtures. I think many mexican species will grow with straw or composted wood.

but only the semperviva proved fruitable.

Maybe some strains was selected for other benefits then fruiting. The also work with liquid surface cultures and i think they also save strains how produce many mycel with an high psilocybin/psilocin content.
Maybe somebody had an source where the abilities of the different strains are.

B.I.O was an good grower and i think many peoples get cultures from him but maby they dont try the other dsmz strains much or they really dont produce fruits after this long time storage.

I dont know how B.I.O get the cultures in the past, today there is not much chance to get cultures from them. It would be nice to try some of the old ones out. Maby anywhere in the world are some left in private hand, so it would be nice to give them out

The strains only die when nobody try to grow them.


P.S. Forgive me my bad english, im an German

[Workman]

I dug up this photo from 2002. I think it was my last attempt with this species. I then got distracted with the sclerotia formers and never got back to them.

[prankster]

They look really not bad but also not optimal. I think on straw they will give nice shrooms. Elektrolurch writes they want more light.

[Cowcharmer]

Im glad it didn't die out.
Hows the potency ?

[Workman]

A little update. The image is of one of the original plates streaked with the old semperviva spores. As you can see it is badly contaminated, but clean transfers were made to new plates well before it got this bad. The plate was saved only as a backup in case the transfers were lost for some reason.

I haven't been working on this as quickly as I should but healthy cased trays are now in the fruiting chamber.

I did notice that the wild sample's mycelium is behaving much differently than the known samples. I looked at the spores under the microscope and they are indeed some other species. The unknown culture is very aggressive and I am hopeful that it will fruit and reveals its true identity.

[prankster]

Cool 2 exotic pearl´s awake to new life. You are my man, i hope you get many nice fruits.

[Workman]

I didn't use straw yet so I expect these mushrooms not to look perfectly normal, but they are coming along. Other attempts are in progress but not as far along. You can really see the relationship to Psilocybe weilii, P. caerulescens and P. villarrealii in the stem with the whitish layer of fibrils that breaks up as the stem expands.

[prankster]

Great. You grow them on rye gras seeds?

They build good clusters. Keep us updated

[prankster]

I wonder really why only 5 peoples reply to this great thread. Workman did great work and brings back a very beautiful psilocybe species. Who knows how long the original dsmz strain will fruit.

btw Workman, did you know wich strain from dsmz was your original? They have 3 but i think only B.I.O knows wich one is a fruiter.

[Hippie3]

not much to say
but i watch closely...

[the_chosen_one]

me too. this will make a great addition to the archives tho

[OooO]

yeah really great you saved them go on!!!

[hyphaenation]

Some important work going on here...

[fedshtkpndrk]

Ill just sit here and try to pick up my jaw.

I hope that this species will be available through the works in the future. Thank you Workman, Much appreciation

[Seee]

greater than or equal to Ultraman?

theres no need for even a pole

[dizzydank]

sweet workman. cant wait to see more.

[MrMycelium]

saving a species is one of the most important things in this hobby.
It promises fun for future generations to come. Great save Workman.

[pcsillypj]

workman....you never stop amazing me...always got something cool up your sleeve...kinda like a mycomagician...

[Godflesh]

[Workman]

Picture from today. They are coming along nicely although there are some deformities in some clusters. I have my eye on a perfect specimen set apart from the others that might be a superior substrain in this multispore grow. Gills are starting to darken on the larger ones so I expect to get at least enough spores to refresh my old collection. No pins yet with the misidentified wild "Psilocybe hoogshagenii" culture. The spores look similar to Psilocybe zapotecorum which has always been a troublesome species for me.

Thanks for the interest.

I don't know which of the three strains from DMSZ B.I.O. purchased but my 2002 fruits look just like the original cultivations on agar done by Heim.

After reviewing Elektrolurch's grow it seems my latest attempt is looking very similar, especially in the younger specimens. I may get some good prints yet.

[prankster]

It´s really cool how many shrooms are growing. What are the temps?

[Workman]

About 78F

[dial8]

Holy shit and WOW! I suppose all the other growth parameters are typical of many other similar species? rH about 98% and a few fae's per day?

[Sideshow]

Good work, man! Maybe soon we'll see this strain for sale on your site. I'll be watching this thread if for nothing else than the fact that I'm doing agar (ala Sporeworks PDA) myself and there are good pics and info here. Sending positive vibes your way so you can get good prints. Sporeworks has always taken good care of me!

[TVCasualty]

Awesome.

Originally Posted by prankster

I wonder really why only 5 peoples reply to this great thread.

We're here, and we're loving this thread! (31 replies but 580+ views)

[pcsillypj]

are you gonna have these available on your site anytime soon..?

[Workman]

10/25/07

The mushrooms in the tray are getting quite large and are still not mature. The cap edges are irregular on many of the mushrooms but some are almost normal.

A secondary grow from a cased jar of grass seed is now fruiting. There are some interesting developments such as very thick almost sclerotia-like rhizomorphs that then develop into mushrooms. They somewhat resemble tree roots with the mushroom as the trunk of the tree. Also there are some invitro pins down deep in the jar shown in the last image.

This species fruits reliably on even sterile substrates but its a grow in slow motion. Every step easily takes twice as long as cubensis. But contaminates don't seem to touch it. Similar features are noted in its close relatives in the Section Cordisporae (weilii, villarrealii and probably caerulescens). All are proven to fruit in the lab but specimens are relatively slow growing.

It is too early to tell if these will make it on the site for retail, but it seems likely to happen eventually. I plan to do a few private distributions to experience growers to help prevent future loss.