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Psychoactive mushrooms in the genusPsilocybehave immense cultural value and have been used for centuries in Mesoamerica. Despite the recent surge of interest in these mushrooms due to the psychotherapeutic potential of their natural alkaloid psilocybin, their phylogeny and taxonomy remain substantially incomplete. Moreover, the recent elucidation of the psilocybin biosynthetic gene cluster is known for only five of ~165 species ofPsilocybe, four of which belong to only one of two major clades. We set out to improve the phylogeny ofPsilocybeusing shotgun sequencing of fungarium specimens, from which we obtained 71 metagenomes including from 23 types, and conducting phylogenomic analysis of 2,983 single-copy gene families to generate a fully supported phylogeny. Molecular clock analysis suggests the stem lineage ofPsilocybearose ~67 mya and diversified ~56 mya. We also show that psilocybin biosynthesis first arose inPsilocybe, with 4 to 5 possible horizontal transfers to other mushrooms between 40 and 9 mya. Moreover, predicted orthologs of the psilocybin biosynthetic genes revealed two distinct gene orders within the biosynthetic gene cluster that corresponds to a deep split within the genus, possibly a signature of two independent acquisitions of the cluster withinPsilocybe. 

In this study we review recent collections and historical records of epigeous members of the Pezizales formerly placed in the large, heterogenous genus Peziza from temperate southern South America. Recent analyses using molecular phylogenetic methods allow placement of these species in several previously described genera in recognition of the heterogeneity of Peziza. We include species in nine genera, describe one new species (Peziza gamundiae sp. nov.), and propose one new combination (Phylloscypha nothofageti comb. nov.). We also demonstrate that Pustularia microspora is a synonym of the previously described taxon Peziza pseudosylvestris. Our purpose is to draw attention to these taxa in order to promote their collection and study in a modern framework.