Penis Envy — Spore Swab Cloud920®

Penis Envy — Origin & Genetics

Cloud920® Genetics: Heritage Series

Few cubensis strains carry as much history as the Penis Envy. In the early 1970s, ethnobotanist Terence McKenna reportedly collected spore prints from an unusually large Psilocybe cubensis growing on Zebu cattle dung in the Colombian Amazon. Those spores eventually reached mycologist Steven Pollock, who spent years selectively isolating a mutation that barely resembled a typical cubensis anymore — thick, dense stems, caps that refused to open, and a dramatically reduced spore output.

The name? That came later. According to the story, cultivator Rich Gee showed the mushrooms to a group of friends who compared them to "donkey dongs." Gee asked if they were perhaps envious — and the name stuck. What started as a joke became one of the most recognised strain names in mycology. Over the decades, Penis Envy has spawned an entire family of variants: Albino PE, PE Uncut, PE6, Melmac, and more. The original remains the reference point for all of them.

Why a Spore Swab Is the Standard for Penis Envy

Here is the thing most people do not realise until they try: Penis Envy barely drops spores. The caps stay tightly closed around the stem, even at full maturity. The gills are partially or entirely covered, and some fruits are essentially sterile — no spore release at all. Making a traditional foil spore print from a PE mushroom ranges from difficult to impossible.

That is exactly why the spore swab exists as a format for this strain. Our lab team collects PE spores by gently rubbing a sterile cotton swab directly along the exposed gill tissue of mature fruiting bodies. It captures the small amount of spore material that PE does produce, without relying on gravity or cap opening. If you want to work with original Penis Envy genetics, a pre-loaded swab is the most practical and reliable starting point.

Morphology & Spore Characteristics

• Species: Psilocybe cubensis
• Cap: 10–25 mm diameter. Bulbous, often staying closed or partially open. Colour ranges from light brown to copper-brown with a waxy, rubbery texture
• Stem: 40–125 mm. Thick, dense and contorted — the characteristic phallus shape that gave this strain its name. Bruises deep blue-green when handled
• Spores: Dark purple-brown. Subellipsoid, approximately 11–14 µm × 7–10 µm. Basidia 4-spored
• Spore production: Significantly reduced compared to all other cubensis strains. Caps do not fully open, gills remain partially covered. Spore swabs are the primary collection method

Under the microscope at 400–1000× magnification, PE spores show the classic cubensis ellipsoid shape and purple-brown pigmentation. However, you will notice more variability between individual spores compared to a high-output strain like Golden Teacher. That variation — combined with the rarity of PE spore material — is what makes this strain a fascinating subject for comparative microscopy.

What Makes Penis Envy Different from Other Cubensis

Most cubensis strains look and behave similarly once you have seen a few. Penis Envy does not follow that pattern. The mutation that Pollock isolated changed almost everything about the mushroom: cap shape, stem density, growth speed, and above all, spore behaviour. Where a B+ or Golden Teacher drops dense, dark spore prints with minimal effort, PE forces you to work for every spore you collect.

That low spore output is also why Penis Envy has always been less available than mainstream strains. It is harder to reproduce, slower to colonise, and more demanding in terms of sterile technique. The experienced mycologists who work with PE tend to treat their spore material carefully — because replacing it is not as simple as letting a cap sit on foil overnight.

What's in the Pack

• 2× sterile cotton spore swabs, individually sealed
• Each swab is pre-loaded with Psilocybe cubensis Penis Envy spores collected directly from gill tissue
• Ready to use — no syringe, no liquid, no preparation needed

Spore swabs contain no psilocybin or psilocin and are sold exclusively for microscopy and taxonomic research purposes.

How to Use This Spore Swab

Work inside a still-air box or under a laminar flow hood. Open the sterile packaging and take the swab by the handle — never touch the cotton tip. Gently streak the swab across a prepared agar plate in a zigzag pattern, or roll a small amount of spore material onto a microscope slide with a drop of sterile water.

Seal your plate immediately with Parafilm and label it with strain name and date. Expect germination within 5–14 days depending on conditions. Because this is a multispore inoculation, you will likely see variation on the plate — isolate the cleanest, most vigorous sectors through transfers.

New to spore swabs? Read our full step-by-step spore swab guide →

Recommended Supplies

Get the most out of your Penis Envy swab by combining it with the right lab supplies:

• Petri dishes — for agar inoculation and isolation transfers
• Agar Agar + Light Malt Extract (LME) — to prepare your own nutrient plates
• Parafilm — to seal plates against contamination
• A still-air box or laminar flow hood for clean work

Cultivation Notes

• Difficulty: Moderate to advanced. PE colonises slower and is less forgiving than beginner strains
• Substrate: BRF / PF Tek, rye grain, pasteurised dung, straw
• Colonisation speed: Slow — noticeably longer than strains like B+ or Golden Teacher
• Fruiting temperature: 22–25°C
• Yield: Smaller flushes by weight, but individual fruits are dense and heavy
• Note: PE is known for occasional "blobbing" — irregular growths in the first flush that can be managed with a proper casing layer

For best results, always start on agar first. Select the strongest mycelium sectors through 1–2 transfers before moving to grain. Going directly from swab to grain is possible but increases your risk of contamination and slower colonisation.

Storage

Keep your Penis Envy spore swabs in their original sealed packaging, refrigerated at 2–8°C, away from light and moisture. Stored correctly, swabs remain viable for extended periods. Once you open a swab, use it immediately in a sterile environment — do not attempt to reseal or store a used swab.