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McKennaii — Spore Vial 10ml

McKennaii is a Dutch-released cubensis spore vial named after Terence McKenna — dark wavy caps, moderate difficulty, and a strong potency reputation in the cultivation community.

Availability: In stock

€17.50
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Product Description
Details

Named for the man who changed how the West thinks about mushrooms

McKennaii was released around 2002 from Amsterdam, named in honour of Terence McKenna — the ethnobotanist, author, and psychedelic philosopher whose lectures and books on Psilocybe cubensis brought mushroom cultivation into mainstream counterculture consciousness. McKenna’s own advocacy for the species (and his infamous “stoned ape” hypothesis) made him the symbolic figurehead of a generation of growers. A strain bearing his name was perhaps inevitable; what surprised people was how well it performed.

Dark caps and a wavy, distinctive silhouette

McKennaii is visually distinctive: caps are dark caramel-brown with notably wavy or irregular edges, giving mature fruit bodies a more dramatic profile than classic cubensis strains. Cap colour sits on the darker end of the caramel spectrum. Stems are proportionate and bruise a strong blue when touched. Spore prints are the deep purple-brown typical of the species. The irregular cap edges make McKennaii easy to identify after a few grows.

Reputed among the stronger cubensis strains

McKennaii is widely cited in cultivation communities as one of the more potent cubensis varieties — a reputation that persists across Shroomery discussions, cultivation guides, and community reviews. As with all potency claims between cubensis strains, these are anecdotal; growing conditions, harvest timing, and drying have a greater measurable impact than strain genetics alone. That said, McKennaii is consistently placed in the higher tier by experienced growers who have run multiple strains side by side.

For growers ready to step up from beginner strains

McKennaii is rated moderate in difficulty — not because it is especially fragile, but because it benefits from tighter environmental control than a forgiving beginner strain like B+ or Golden Teacher. Colonisation is medium-paced on grain, and fruiting initiates reliably at 22–25 °C with adequate humidity. Yields are medium to high. It is best suited to growers with a few successful grows behind them who are ready to work with a more characterful strain.

McKennaii at a glance

StrainMcKennaii
OriginAmsterdam — released around 2002, named in honour of Terence McKenna
DifficultyModerate — slightly more demanding than beginner strains
Colonisation speedMedium
Yield ratingMedium to high
Cap colourDark caramel-brown, wavy / irregular cap edges
BruisingStrong blue
Notable traitReputed among the more potent cubensis strains; favoured by experienced growers

About Psilocybe cubensis vials

Every spore vial in our catalogue contains a single, isolated Psilocybe cubensis strain in a sterile preservation fluid. Cubensis is the most widely cultivated species in the genus, with shared growing parameters across most strains — the differences between strains are mostly visual, behavioural and in subtle yields. The technical specs below apply to every cubensis vial we ship; the strain-specific traits are listed in the table on each product page.

Species Psilocybe cubensis
Vial volume 10 ml
Fruiting temperature 21–24 °C (70–75 °F)
Optimal humidity 90–95%
Compatible substrates BRF cakes, grain, manure-based, coir-based
Time to first harvest ~30–45 days (varies per strain)
Typical flushes 3–5
Spore print colour Dark purple-brown
Shelf life Up to 2 years refrigerated (2–8 °C)

Contents

  • 1× glass vial with 10 ml sterile spore solution
  • 1× sterile 10 ml syringe
  • 2× alcohol prep pads (“alco preps”)
  • Carton box, sealed for shipping

Why choose a spore vial?

  • Long shelf life. Up to 2 years refrigerated — significantly longer than a typical spore syringe.
  • No static charge. Glass vials don’t carry static, so spores stay in suspension and don’t cling to the inside walls. You actually get to use 100% of the spores.
  • Higher spore density. Roughly 1,000 spore grow-parts per millilitre — about double a standard syringe.
  • Resealable septum. The rubber membrane re-seals after each needle pass, so one vial inoculates multiple substrates over time.
  • Compatible with liquid culture media. Vial spore solution is clean for use with LC growth media, where syringes often aren’t.

Practical use

A 10 ml spore vial holds enough solution to inoculate roughly 3 litres of substrate (around 3 ml per litre). Always sterilise the rubber septum with an alcohol prep before inserting a needle, and replace the protective stopper cap between uses. The vial can be drawn from multiple times as long as the septum is sterilised before each pass.

Best practice: transfer to agar or liquid culture first. For the most reliable results, don’t inject spore solution directly into grain. Spores need to germinate before they can colonise, and grain offers no way to spot contamination early. Transferring to an agar plate or to a liquid culture (LC) medium first lets you isolate clean, vigorous mycelium before it ever touches your final substrate. This step typically increases success rates significantly and lets you produce multiple grain bags from a single vial via LC.

Want a full step-by-step walkthrough on inoculating, storing and reusing your spore vial?

View spore vial instructions

Storage

Store the vial in the refrigerator between 2 °C and 8 °C (35–46 °F), dark and upright. Keep the protective septa stopper cap in place when not in use. Do not freeze — ice crystal formation can rupture spores. Stored correctly, a spore vial remains usable for up to 2 years from dispatch. If the solution shows green, pink or orange tints, contamination has set in and the vial should be discarded; faint brownish cloudiness is normal and represents the spores themselves.

A note on legality

Psilocybe spores themselves contain no psilocybin and are legal to possess in most EU countries. Local laws on cultivation and possession of mature mushrooms vary — please check the regulations in your country before going further.

Additional Info
Additional Info
Productcode MCS.SPVIA.002-MCKE-10
Weight (KG) 0.1000
Form Vial
Contents (ml) 10ml
Mushroom Strain McKennaii
Species Psilocybe cubensis
Potency High
Difficulty Moderate
Origin Unknown

Customer Reviews

4 Item(s)

per page
Excellent ;) Review by Michael
Rating
Tried beiing very clean and cautious, whenever working with the spore vials and have had very good results so far! (Posted on 9/15/2022)
Just fine :) Review by Michael
Rating
Like Magic :) (Posted on 9/15/2022)
great service Review by mad-adam
Rating
Great service all round. Product arrived within the post promptly. I've had good results with this spore vial. (Posted on 9/21/2018)
great service Review by mad-adam
Rating
Spore Vial arrived on time. Great product. I've had good results spawning within 4 days. (Posted on 9/21/2018)

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