Hillbilly Cubensis[i] is a cultivated strain of Psilocybe cubensis, the well-known psychoactive mushroom. While it was originally found growing wild in the American South, it is rumored to grow wild almost everywhere that any P. cubensis can.
Hillbilly is not a new strain and in fact fell out of fashion for a while, but it seems to be having a come-back now.
Identification & Description
Hillbilly looks more or less like most cubes, although cap is a little smaller and is a distinct orange color, especially in the center.
Because this variety can be found growing in the wild, psychonauts may attempt to forage some for themselves. Beginners at foraging should be forewarned, though, that Hillbilly, like virtually all magic mushrooms, has a close look-alike in the aptly-named Deadly Galerina. It’s not that they look exactly alike, but even someone familiar with magic mushrooms in the hand or in a fruiting chamber might not notice the difference. You need foraging experience—and a personal commitment to avoiding complacency—in order to know how to really notice the right details.
Look-Alikes
Most cubes look very much alike, and with good reason—they are all the same species. Hillbilly is a bit more orange than most, but it’s basically a typical cube, not like, say, the truly odd-looking APE. Fortunately, mistaking one cube for another is not really a serious mistake.
Other psilocybin mushroom species, especially those in the Psilocybe genus, mostly also look similar, though few have the orange color.
Finally, all these species come under the heading of LBM (“little brown mushroom”), a large group of mostly-unrelated mushrooms that are similar enough to easily confuse the unwary. It’s not that they all look identical—they don’t—it’s that the overall impression is very much the same, so if you aren’t paying attention and just think “oh, that looks about right,” you could be very wrong. Some LBMs are good to eat simply as food but some, as mentioned already, will kill people who eat them.
Just be careful.
Trip Effects
The effects of taking Hillbilly are roughly the same as with any other cube—alteration of mood, thinking style, and perception, including hallucinations at the higher doses. Usually these variations are enjoyable. Occasionally they are very much not, although there are steps you can take to make a good experience more likely—and even a “bad trip” can be spiritually valuable, if you know how to let go and work with it. Users generally report the Hillbilly high is gentler and friendlier than typical, with more laughter and less visuals than other strains at a similar dose. It is sometimes recommended as a good magic mushroom for beginners.
But trip experiences depend so much on set and setting and dosage, and probably also the user’s individual biochemistry. Which strain you use is probably a minor factor.
It’s worth noting, though, that psilocybin has other effects besides the trip itself—physical side-effects, such as excessive yawning and nausea, are common. Less likely, but still possible, are more serious side-effects. Psilocybin is relatively low-risk as mind-altering substances go, but understand the risks and take precautions accordingly.
Potency and Dosage
Hillbilly is generally considered of moderate potency, for a cube, though it is debatable how much different strains of the same species actually vary—yes, two trips can be very different from each other, but that is at least partly due to variation from mushroom to mushroom even within the same strain.
This variation makes dosing difficult. Although it’s possible to find dosing guidelines, they can only ever be approximate. A much better approach is to take a small about and then add more if you want, once you find out how strong that particular batch is.
You could also try our Magic Mushroom Dosage calculator.
Growing Hillbilly Cubensis
Hillbilly does well with any tek normally used for cubes and is very forgiving of mistakes. It resists contamination and has a very short colonization time, with a tendency to dry to fruit inside sealed grain jars (something to watch out for and avoid).
Buying vs. Growing Hillbilly Cubensis
If you want some magic mushrooms, you can grow them or you can buy them. Which you do will depend on how much you want, how often you want it, and what the law is in your area.
Buying mushrooms is risky. There is no assurance of quality, no recourse if the seller takes advantage of you, and in most jurisdictions you are committing a crime—for which your dealer is a witness. Growing is more discrete, especially since, in many jurisdictions, buying and selling spores is perfectly legal, since spores contain no psilocybin. You also have control over your product, you know exactly what you’re getting, and your per-dose cost is going to be much lower. Plus, mushroom growing is a fascinating hobby that many people enjoy. The only problem is that you’ll end up with a large supply of a single strain, which might not be what you want. And if you do get caught, the penalty for growing an illegal substance in quantity, rather than simply possessing a dose or two, is likely to be severe.
So if you want just a couple of doses, buying is going to be your better bet—and that goes double if you live somewhere that possession for personal use has been legalized or decriminalized but “manufacturing” has not been. On the other hand, if you want a steady supply of magic mushrooms, and you need to keep the whole process discrete, buying will be the way to go.
References:
[i] (n.d.). Hillbilly Cubensis. Three Amigos Psilacybin
I found some in my back yard in Tennessee