If you’re at all familiar with magic mushrooms, you may have heard of magic truffles as well. They’re not quite the same thing as magic mushrooms, but how different are they? Anecdotal reports seen on message boards suggest that truffle trips differ from shroom trips in that they are a more cerebral, mental trip than a visually-oriented one caused by shrooms. Some people claim that truffles feel more like MDMA, while shrooms feel closer to LSD.
Meanwhile, other posts on the same message board argue that since the main psychoactive ingredients psilocybin and psilocin are present, the trips should be identical. That argument is scientifically sound, but it doesn’t explain why users report such different experiences. So, let’s dive into what magic truffles and mushrooms are, and see if we can figure out what makes the difference.
What are sclerotia?
You already know what a mushroom is – it’s the easily recognizable above-ground fruiting body of a fungus, which mostly grows underground. A sclerotium (better known as a truffle) is actually part of the same fungus. Sclerotia are hard, compact chunks of fungal mycelium that contain food reserves, and have the ability to survive through many adverse conditions that would destroy the more sensitive parts of the fungus. Until 1853, nobody realized that sclerotia were actually a certain stage in a fungus’ life cycle rather than a completely separate organism.
Sclerotia only develop under certain conditions, and not every type of fungus can develop them. Psilocybe Cubensis (one of the most popular and common psilocybin-containing mushrooms), for example, has never been known to form sclerotia. In many species of fungus, sclerotia are formed to help the fungus survive through the winter.
Sclerotia have thick, hard shells, and typically have dark coloring. Their density, hardness, and appearance are probably half of how they earned their nickname “philosopher’s stones.” As for the “philosopher” part of the name… well, we don’t really have to guess about that. If conditions are favorable for growth, sclerotia can germinate to grown new fruiting bodies or new mycelium.
Differences between truffles and shrooms
So, we now know that truffles and shrooms are different parts of the same organism, and that they contain the same psychoactive ingredients. But what happens when you eat them? Well, the first thing you’ll notice is the taste. Truffles tend to taste more sour than the mushrooms, and often have a slight nutty flavor. Due to truffles’ higher density and hardness, you may need to prepare them in some way, such as making them into tea or boiling them to soften them up. Once you consume them, though, they’ll take effect in the same way that magic mushrooms do.
If magic truffle sclerotia and magic mushrooms both contain psilocybin and psilocin, why do people describe the resulting trips differently? Some users claim that mushrooms have a higher concentration of psilocybin and psilocin than truffles do, but science has not verified this claim. It seems that in both the mushroom and the truffle, levels of these psychoactive substances should be about the same. So, the “power” of one versus the other can’t be responsible for the perceived differences.
Another possibility is that due to the hardness of a sclerotium, the user’s body doesn’t digest it as quickly. As a result, it’s possible that the psilocybin and psilocin are released more slowly, leading to a gentler, less intense trip. This theory sounds plausible, but once again, there is no real evidence to back it up.
Finally, it’s possible that since truffles are often labeled in both quantity and potency, many users end up taking more conservative doses, with less chance of overestimating and ending up on a truly reality-bending trip. Truffles also have even distributions of their psychoactive compounds, whereas the potency of a mushroom varies in accordance with which stage of growth it’s in. In any case, truffle trips are often described as fun, lighthearted, and easy to deal with, whereas mushroom trips are often described as intense, deep, and sometimes challenging. Take note of this anecdotal evidence, but take it with a grain of salt while science catches up with a more definitive answer.
Legality
While there isn’t a huge difference between truffles and mushrooms when it comes to their effects, there is a bit of a difference when it comes to legal status. In most countries, both magic mushrooms and magic truffles are illegal. However, both were legal in the Netherlands until a crackdown in 2008. Interestingly, only the mushrooms themselves were made illegal, and magic truffles can still be purchased in shops in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the country.
