When compared to other strains of mushroom spores, the Golden Teacher has a rather large and elegant appearance. The name ‘Golden Teacher’ refers first to this mushroom’s distinctive golden caps. These gold caps have lighter, yellow speckling, atop elegant, long-winding stems. The second reason for the Golden Teacher’s name is its reputation for being a wise teacher, said to help bring about enlightenment, harmony with nature and inner peace. Part of the mushroom family, they are also often referred to as golden tops, cubes, gold caps or GTs.
Mushroom Spores as a species was not formally discovered by scientists until 1906, when mycologist Franklin Sumner Earle detailed this strain as the “Stropharia cubensis.” As a strain, the Golden Teacher was not discovered until the 1980s. Though its origins remain disputed, in the 80s it was found growing in the wild in various parts of Florida. Still others believe that the Golden Teacher was actually an older Hawaiian PES strain, renamed later by a Dutch grower after its emblematic golden caps.
While we know rather little about the origins of this strain, its physical features in mature fungi are well documented. Its potency is not noted for its strength so much as its spiritual guidance, lessons which have been called ‘revelatory, insightful and Shamanistic.’ In the wild, it can be found growing in dung and straw. It’s a large and meaty strain, which is said to produce large fruitbodies that grow in flushes and emit a farinaceous odor. Though not as fast fruiting as other strains of mushrooms, this strain is said to fruit or colonize in areas around 84-86 degrees F to 74-78 degrees. The size of mature caps of this strain are said to measure around five centimeters in diameter.
Genetically, this mushroom strain is fascinating. It has both tryptamines that affect serotonin receptors—an area of growing clinical research. Under the microscope, the features of its spores are complex and spectacular. Though 4-spored, they can also at times be 2- or 3-spored, with subellipsoid and basidia of 11.5–17 x 8–11 µm. Perhaps most striking for mycologists are the pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia present in this strain—a relatively unique plant biomarker.
Our Golden Teacher Mushroom Spores are sold suspended inside a 10CC syringe, surrounded by sterile water. Mushroom spores are for microscopy research purposes only. While cultivation of these mushrooms is illegal in many countries, including the United States, this mushroom’s microscopy study for medicinal research is just beginning to grow. For researchers, study of the GT’s micromorphological genetic characteristics will absolutely amaze.
