What is the main difference between Treasure Coast and Ecuadorian mushrooms?

The main difference is their origin and specific morphological traits. The Treasure Coast strain is named for its Florida origin and is known for producing rare albino variants. The Ecuadorian strain is noted for its robust, meaty structure and is believed to originate from the highlands of Ecuador.

Do these strains have the same spore characteristics?

Yes, for research purposes, the spores of both strains are very similar. As they are both Psilocybe cubensis, their spores are dark purplish-brown, subellipsoid in shape, and fall within a similar size range of approximately 11–17 µm by 8–12 µm.

Are spores of these strains legal to study?

The legality of mushroom spores varies by location. In many jurisdictions, the spores of Psilocybe cubensis strains like Treasure Coast and Ecuadorian are legal for educational and research purposes, as they do not contain illegal compounds. However, their cultivation and consumption are illegal in many regions. Always consult and adhere to local, state, and federal laws.

Red Boy (Psilocybe cubensis): Conflicting Colour Claims, Disputed Origins and Spore Traits

Home » Strain Encyclopedia » Psilocybe Cubensis » Red Boy

Updated: October 3, 2026

Mushroom spores are sold strictly for microscopy and research purposes only. Cultivation of Psilocybin-containing fungi is illegal in many jurisdictions. This page is not a guide to finding, growing, or taking mushrooms.

Short answer: Red Boy is a trade name for material sold as Psilocybe Cubensis (Earle) Singer. It is not a separate species, a published variety, or a recognised variant. Sellers disagree on what "red" refers to (the spores, the cap, or neither), on who made the line, and on its parentage. Under a microscope, a sample shows the spore characters of P. cubensis.

Home » Strain Encyclopedia » Psilocybe Cubensis » Red Boy

In this guide

What Red Boy is (and isn't)
Taxonomy
What is documented and what is lore
Spore and cap traits
Origin claims, source by source
Spellings and look-alike names
Identifying it, and what a microscope can't tell you
Examining a slide
Mushly products
Legal note
References
FAQ

What Red Boy is

Red Boy is one of many named lines of Psilocybe cubensis in Mushly's all-strains library. The word "red" in the name is not a colour record. For the difference between a species and a trade name, see our species vs strain primer and the Psilocybe cubensis species guide.

"Red Boy is a trade name for Psilocybe cubensis. Sellers disagree on whether red means the spores or the cap, and on who made it. Species spore traits and limits."

Red Boy is a trade name for Psilocybe cubensis. Sellers disagree on whether red means the spores or the cap, and on who made it. Species spore traits and limits.

Taxonomy

Rank	Entry
Kingdom	Fungi
Phylum	Basidiomycota
Class	Agaricomycetes
Order	Agaricales
Family	Placement varies by source: Index Fungorum, Species Fungorum and NCBI list Agrocybaceae, while many other references use Hymenogastraceae
Genus	Psilocybe
Species	Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer, Sydowia 2(1-6): 37 (1948)
Basionym	Stropharia cubensis Earle (1906)
Trade name	Red Boy (informal)

Species records: Index Fungorum 290107, the Species Fungorum synonymy and NCBI Taxonomy 181762. None of them lists Red Boy, Redboy or RedBoy. A name below species rank counts only if it is formally published, and this one is not. A label like this records where a culture came from. It is not a taxon.

What is documented and what is lore

Question	Status
Is Red Boy a species or published variety?	No. The only formal name is Psilocybe cubensis.
Spore size and shape	Published for the species only, with no Red Boy-specific measurements.
Spore print or cap colour	Sellers disagree. No source measures it for this name.
Who made it, and from what	Seller accounts conflict.
Is it the same as PF Red Boy, Redboy, RedBoy or PF Redspore?	Not established. See the spelling table below.

Spore and cap traits

Short answer: the published measurements describe the species, not this name.

Singer and Smith's 1958 Mycologia monograph (Mycological investigations on Teonanácatl) describes P. cubensis spores as:

Size: 11.5-17.3 × 8-11.5 × 7-9 µm
Surface: smooth, with a thick, complex wall
Apex: truncate, from a distinct apical pore
Colour in a mountant: dark yellow brown in KOH, dark olive brown in NH4OH

The KOH and NH4OH colours are mountant colours, not spore-print colours. The paper does not mention Red Boy, a red print or a red cap. Guzmán et al. (2012) give a second species-level range of (12-)13-15(-17) × 8-10(-11) × 7-9 µm. No published paper that uses the trade name is known, so seller colour descriptions are not cited as fact.

What sellers say about colour: the descriptions do not agree, and we do not pick one.

Mushly's own listings: the syringe mentions "reddish spore tones" and also "dark spores," while the print says dark purplish-brown spores.
Other sellers: descriptions range from red or gold spores, to burgundy-red spores, to rust, red, brown or gold in prose, against purple-brown in a table on the same page. Some describe a light golden-brown cap.

Wild-type P. cubensis prints purple-brown. Record the print colour you actually see, and treat any red claim as that seller's.

Origin claims

Short answer: none of these sources is a paper, no source documents a collector, and the accounts do not merge into one story.

Source	Name it uses	What it says
Premium Spores	Red Boy	Types it as a "variety" (the shop's word). Origin unknown in the table, while the prose says "they say" it was a cross of red boy spores with a Puerto Rico cubensis, sometimes credited to RogerRabbit, and "some say" a Florida pasture. The table and prose disagree.
Edabea	Red Boy, then "PF Red Boy"	Calls it a strain from the PF original, with red spores instead of black or purple. Names no collector.
Inoculate the World, syringe	Redboy	Credits Jack Oncid, also called Pan Man. Spores can be red, gold, purple or black, and the cap is light golden brown.
Inoculate the World, isolate	RedBoy	Credits Jake Oncid, not Jack. Repeats the spore sentence and names no second parent.
Mycomatic	Red Boy in the title, Redboy in the body	Says RogerRabbit crossed Redboy with a Puerto Rico line. Gives no colour and no wild location.
Magic Mushrooms Shop (article dated 20 March 2018)	Red Boy	Says the spores are burgundy red. "Some say" a cross with a Puerto Rico cubensis, and "some say" a Florida pasture. Does not choose between them.
Sporeworks PF Redspore	PF Redspore	A different name. Describes a red-spored mutation of PF Classic and says it should not be confused with an unrelated Redboy strain.

Names such as Jack Oncid, Jake Oncid and RogerRabbit are each one seller's attribution. A creator, a place and a parent on a shop page are that page's claim, and the pages contradict each other. Mushly's own listings name no collector or parent.

Spellings and look-alike names

Red Boy (two words) is the spelling on Mushly's products.
Redboy and RedBoy are other sellers' spellings. Neither page says it means the same thing as Red Boy, and we do not assume it.
PF Red Boy is Edabea's wording and is not Mushly's Red Boy.
PF Redspore is Sporeworks' separate swab, described as unrelated to Redboy.

Different spellings and prefixes may or may not be the same culture. Record the exact label, supplier and date on every sample.

Identifying it

Short answer: microscopy supports a species-level note, not a strain identity.

What a match shows: smooth spores, a thick wall and a truncate apex with a germ pore, within the published species range, support P. cubensis as the species to compare (Ramírez-Cruz et al. 2013 notes that spore characters overlap across Psilocybe).
What it cannot show: a trade name, a cap or print colour claim, a cross, a PF line, a Florida pasture or a person. It also cannot show chemical content.
Colour: a mountant colour is not a print colour, and it does not decide between a red, reddish or dark purple-brown deposit.
Chemistry: Mushly does not publish potency figures for Red Boy, and no published laboratory analysis of Red Boy-labelled material is known.

Examining a slide

Follow the general method in our Golden Teacher guide and the mushroom spores guide, and then:

Measure at least 20 spores (length × width) and record the magnification and mountant.
Note the germ pore, the wall, and the spore shape in face and side view.
Record the colour in the mountant and the print colour separately. Do not assume red.
Write down the exact label, spelling, supplier and date.
Remember the limit: a fit to P. cubensis does not prove the Red Boy label.

Mushly products

Mushly lists two items under this name:

Both listings are the seller's descriptions, and they do not agree on spore colour with each other or with other sellers. For related lines, see our Psilocybe cubensis strain list.

Legal note

Mushly offers spores for microscopy, taxonomy, and mycological research. Laws on spores, and on psilocybin-containing mushrooms, differ by country and by U.S. state, and cultivation of psilocybin- or psilocin-containing species is illegal under U.S. federal law and in many other jurisdictions. Check the law where you live before ordering.

Red Boy spore syringe · Spore print · All spore syringes

References

Index Fungorum 290107; Species Fungorum synonymy; NCBI Taxonomy 181762
Singer, R. & Smith, A.H. (1958), Mycologia 50: Mycological investigations on Teonanácatl
Guzmán et al. 2012, Mycotaxon 119: 65-81
Ramírez-Cruz et al. 2013, Canadian Journal of Botany
Seller claims (not papers, not verified): Premium Spores; Edabea; Inoculate the World syringe and isolate; Mycomatic; Magic Mushrooms Shop; Sporeworks PF Redspore

Buy Red Boy Spores

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Red Boy?

Red Boy is a trade name for material sold as Psilocybe cubensis, not a separate species (Index Fungorum 290107).

What does "red" refer to?

Sellers disagree. Some say red or burgundy spores, others a reddish cap, and Mushly's own print listing says dark purplish-brown spores. No source measures it. Record what you see.

Who created Red Boy?

Seller accounts credit different people (Jack Oncid, Jake Oncid, RogerRabbit) and describe different parents, including a Puerto Rico cubensis. None is a published record, and none can be verified.

Is Red Boy the same as Redboy, RedBoy or PF Red Boy?

Not established. Each seller uses its own spelling, and none says it means the same culture as Mushly's Red Boy. Sporeworks sells a separately named PF Redspore and says it is unrelated to Redboy.

Can a microscope identify Red Boy?

It can show whether spores fit the published description of P. cubensis. It cannot separate Red Boy from other cubensis labels or confirm a colour or origin claim.

Does Mushly supply Red Boy spores?

Yes. Mushly supplies a Red Boy spore syringe and a Red Boy spore print for microscopy and research only. Laws vary by location, and cultivation of psilocybin-containing fungi is illegal in many jurisdictions, so check your local law before ordering.

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Written by Max

Max is Mushly’s lead writer and Office Maestro. He crafts clear, well-researched articles on Psilocybe cubensis strains, microdosing, and mushroom science. In addition to writing, he handles day-to-day operations, keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes.