Psilocybe australiana is a species of psychoactive mushroom

Psychedelic mushroom

Psilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being shrooms or magic mushrooms....

  found in Victoria, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Commonly found growing on Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 and pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 mulch, as well as on soil with wood or leafy debris, on tracks and roadsides, in Pinus radiata plantations, or in temperate rain forests.
The mushroom was originally discovered by Gaston Guzman

Gastón Guzmán

Gastón Guzmán is a Mexican mycologist and anthropologist. He is considered the world's foremost authority on the genus Psilocybe.He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, in 1932....

 and Roy Watling. Further research by New Zealand mycologist Peter Buchanan

Peter Buchanan

The Honourable Justice Peter Buchanan is a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the highest court in Victoria, a state of Australia. Buchanan was appointed a judge of the court on 27 October 1997. Buchanan is currently the longest-serving member of the Court of Appeal.-Education and...

 has shown Psilocybe australiana to be a variant of Psilocybe subaeruginosa

Psilocybe subaeruginosa

Psilocybe subaeruginosa is a psychedelic mushroom of Australasia, which has psilocybin and psilocin as main active compounds.First reported in 1927, it is placed in the section Cyanescens, which includes Psilocybe cyanescens and Psilocybe maire....

.

Commonly it is a large umbonate mushroom with a sharp nipple, orangy brown hygrophanous

Hygrophanous

The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis to become more transparent when wet and opaque when dry....

 cap

Pileus (mycology)

The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...

, often with a margin flecked with white veil

Veil (botany)

A veil, in mycology, is one of several structures in fungi, especially the thin membrane that covers the cap and stalk of an immature mushroom.Veils may be regarded as falling into two categories:*Partial veil*Universal veil...

 remnants and strongly visible radial lines. The stem

Stipe (mycology)

thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...

is a strong white with a consistent radius, and turns chestnust brown when the flesh is broken. The gills are very crowded and ascend toward the stem. They are whitish brown but soon become dark chocolate brown. The cap and stem often spotted with dark blue stains, and flesh quickly stains bluish/black upon damage (left image).