Brazilian Magic Mushrooms Strain Guide: Potency, Cultivation, & Similar Strains

Ancient, historical, and extremely fast-growing, the Brazilian strain is one of those fantastic magic mushroom strains that lends itself perfectly to home growers. They boast vigorous growth and disease resistance and grow to mammoth sizes. 

Famed for its intense spiritual experience, the high of this strain is well known for its incredible intensity, heightened sensations of color, and satisfying euphoria.

This strain was first collected somewhere in the Brazilian highlands and cultured in a lab to produce this genetically-stable strain. 

The Brazilian strain can be visually identified by its larger-than-normal veil, which connects the cap to the stem.

The most common issue people experience while growing these mushrooms is not keeping them wet enough. As these mushrooms swell in size, they require constant humidification. It’s a good idea to pick up a high-quality mister or an automatic humidifier when growing the Brazilian cubensis strain (or other South American strains). 

Brazilian Strain Specs

Potency	Above Average 💪
Cultivation	Beginner
Species	Psilocybe cubensis
Substrate Recommendation	Dung, grains
Cost	$$
Sold By	Sporeslab, Spores 101, High Desert Spores, Mushroom Prints

Brazilian Strain Potency & Psilocybin Content

The Brazilian strain is well known for its surprisingly potent trips and hits pretty quickly. You can expect to feel its effects within only about 30 minutes of consuming some Brazilian mushrooms, with plenty of excitement and euphoria and a good amount of visual stimulation.

But this doesn’t answer the widespread question regarding any new mushroom strain — just how potent is it?

Sadly, there hasn’t been a lot of specific scientific consensus surrounding the exact quantity of psilocybin and psilocin for this strain.

A close relative of the Brazilian strain — the SYZYGY strain — was entered into the 2021 Psilocybin Cup. It was found to have a relative concentration of 1.48% psilocybin and a 0.37% relative psilocin content (1.85% total tryptamines). These are some of the most potent magic mushrooms tested — scoring 14th on the 2021 Psilocybin Cup results. 

The Brazilian strain wasn’t entered, and it isn’t as strong as the SYZYGY mushrooms — but it’s close. 

We estimate the average Brazilian strain to contain somewhere between 1.1% and 1.5% total tryptamine concentrations. 

The Brazilian strain also has a uniquely potent “euphoric” effect — as reported by members of the Tripsitter team and the consensus in the magic mushroom community. This strain combines well with a nice hike with friends or family. 

Where to Buy Brazilian Magic Mushroom Spores

The Brazilian strain is very easy to find online. This strain has been around for decades and is available on just about all major spore vendors in the US, Canada, and Europe (with some exceptions).

Places like Spores 101 and Ralphster’s Spores are great US-based resources for finding this strain, but remember that you will most likely only be able to find grow kits or spores rather than the mushrooms themselves (these are illegal). 

• If you live in Canada — Sporeslab, Spores 101, and Mushroom Prints
• If you live in Europe — The Magic Mushroom Shop

Related: How & Where to Buy Magic Mushroom Spores (Legally).

How to Grow The Brazilian Strain

Brazilian mushrooms have a reputation as being fast and vigorous growers. They’re perfect for beginners — just make sure you give them plenty of space to grow. This is not a good strain for people who are tight on space.

Magic mushroom grow kits are a great place to start — you don’t need to worry about sterilization, substrate preparation, or incubation. Just open the package and keep them moist for a few weeks until you’re ready to harvest. 

Unfortunately, grow kits are only legal in a few parts of the world. Spore syringes are the next best option if grow kits aren’t available where you live. You can order spores in most US states, Canada, and most of Europe. 

The key thing to remember when growing Brazilian mushrooms is that, because of their tenacity, they need to be kept consistently moist (but not soaking wet). You’ll likely need to give these mushrooms a spray of filtered water 3 or 4 times a day. Dryer climates may require even more than this. 

If you’re out of the house during the day and can’t keep your Brazilan mushrooms moist as they swell up to gargantuan sizes, you may want to invest in a small humidifier. 

Related: How to Grow Magic Mushrooms at Home (BRF Tek)

Similar Strains

The Brazilian strain is a distinct strain unto itself. Still, a handful of other magic mushroom strains originating from Brazil or surrounding parts of South America and the Amazon rainforest share a similar lineage. 

Strains from this part of the world are notoriously large and have above-average potencies. 

Here are some of the best alternatives to the Brazilian magic mushroom strain. 

Penis Envy

Penis Envy is, alongside having a particularly strange name and a peculiar appearance, one of the most potent shroom strains commercially available these days. This strain is loosely related to the Brazilian strain. It’s believed to be a descendant of a sample collected by Terence McKenna during a trip to the Amazon in the 70s.

With a vast quantity of both psilocybin and psilocin, you can expect the Penis Envy strain to be a good replacement for Brazilian when it comes to intensity.

Golden Teacher

The Golden Teacher strain is likely the most ubiquitous mushroom strain available today. It serves as the starting point for comparing potencies between other magic mushroom strains. They’re formidable mushrooms in their own right, offering a uniquely spiritual and lighthearted experience. They’re often the strain beginners take when trying mushrooms for the very first time. 

Capable of giving the user transcendental highs that last a long time without overwhelming them, this is a great strain to use if you are looking for the same mental clarity and open-mindedness the Brazilian strain can offer.

Amazonian Strain

The Amazon strain was collected many years ago in the Amazon rainforest. It’s unclear if this strain was part of the original stock Terence and Dennis McKenna collected on their infamous trip to the amazon in search of new psychedelics.

These mushrooms are best known for their behemoth size — a trait that’s also shared with the Brazilian strain, though to an even larger degree. Most South American magic mushroom strains share this key feature — the South American strain currently holds the title for the largest Psilocybe cubensis sample ever recorded. 

B+ strain

While hard to prove, some purport that the prodigiously famous B+ strain is, in fact, an indigenous South American strain and thus closely related to other indigenous strains like the Brazilian strain.

Many people erroneously believe the B+ strain to be the same thing as the Amazon strain, thanks to a few mistakenly created website listings back in the early days of selling shrooms online. However, they are actually fundamentally different strains and share distinct growth characteristics. 

Strains vs. Species: What’s The Difference?

There’s often a lot of confusion when it comes to trying to describe different variations of magic mushrooms, primarily because of the lack of understanding surrounding the fundamental difference between a “strain” and a “species.”

A “Species” refers to a group of organisms that share both common ancestry and a similar genetic makeup. Two members of the same species can reproduce together. Different species cannot reproduce viable offspring. 

A “strain” refers to any specific genetic sample within a given species that feature observable and repeatable traits. A species will have many different strains within it, with each strain having something that makes it unique or specifically distinct from other strains within the same species.

For example, the Brazilian strain, the Amazon strain, Lizard King, and Golden Teachers are all unique strains within the Psilocybe cubensis species. All of these strains can be paired to produce viable offspring. Other magic mushroom species, such as Psilocybe mexicana or Panaeolus cyanescens, are genetically distinct and cannot produce viable offspring with Psilocybe cubensis strains. 

Another excellent example of this is Cannabis sativa (marijuana) — all marijuana comes from the same plant. Still, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of phenotypically unique strains (Death Star, Bubba Kush, Purple Haze, etc.).