Albino Penis Envy: An Unusual Variant of the Original Penis Envy
The only thing this strain lacks is color 🎨
By Connor McElroy Last Updated: January 16, 2024
Albino Penis Envy (APE) is a variety of Penis Envy mushroom (PE) that lacks pigment. This ghostly white shroom shares PE’s same phallic shape but is less potent and cultivation tends to be more demanding.
In terms of growth habits, APE has a domed cap that’s minutely wider than the thick stem. This strain doesn’t usually sporulate due to the veil that rarely separates from the underside of the cap. These features give many of the strains in the Penis Envy family an unusual penis look.
Although the APE strain is just as potent as Penis Envy and can give good yields over several prolific flushes, it’s much harder to grow. Albino Penis Envy is prone to aborts, is slower to colonize, and is far more susceptible to mold growth.
This strain is definitely not one to be approached by the beginner cultivator. Instead, it’s more suited for the experienced grower who wants a challenge. Provided the cultivator gets through the first flush, the three to four following flushes can be extremely fruitful — producing large, highly potent albino shrooms.
Albino Penis Envy Specs
Potency - Above Average đź’Ş
Cultivation - Intermediate
Species - Psilocybe cubensis
Substrate Recommendation - Rye Grain, Bird Seed, Compost & Vermiculite
History of the Albino Penis Envy Strain
Albino Penis Envy was supposedly created by the team at Sporeworks. They isolated and stabilized an albino mutation until reliable spore samples were produced. The strain is now available worldwide from a variety of different spore vendors.
Albino Penis Envy’s history is pretty dull and rather short, but the history of its mother strain Penis Envy is anything but dull…
The original Penis Envy strain, at least its lost wild relative, was part of the McKenna brother’s stock. Supposedly, Dennis and Terence McKenna discovered it in the early 1970s when they were exploring the Amazon in search of psychedelic plants and fungi.
The Penis Envy strain we know today is likely very different from the original, which would not survive in the wild because it doesn’t naturally sporulate. How did it morph into something so different?
It’s widely believed that Steven Pollack received a sample of the original Penis Envy spores from the McKenna stock and isolated the strain that we know. However, rumors say he was mysteriously murdered, and the PE mushroom was clutched in the hand of his lifeless body when the police arrived on the scene.
At least, that was the story for a long time. In 2009, Vice published an article written by Hamilton Morris, who explained this story in-depth. Ten years later, the psychedelic journalist revisited the article in an interview with Mr. Richard Guiterrez.
Hamilton’s 2009 article said Rich Gutierrez was mysteriously sent a spore print of the strain after Steven Pollock was murdered. However, Rich explained in the interview that this was untrue, and Pollock didn’t even know where he lived.
Gutierrez claimed to be PE’s creator and provided some pretty solid evidence in the interview. He said it did originate from McKenna’s Amazon stock, but he genetically manipulated the strain to create Penis Envy as it is today.
Rich provided Hamilton with one of the books he wrote in 1976 (five years before Pollock’s mysterious death), showing the first pictures of what was undoubtedly the Penis Envy strain, although it wasn’t named at this time. This basically proves that Rich created the Penis Envy strain, or at the very least proves it wasn’t created by Steven Pollock.
Albino Penis Envy Potency & Psilocybin Content
This popular mushroom is certainly stronger than the average Psilocybe cubensis, but it’s not nearly as potent as it’s parent, the original Penis Envy mushroom.
For quantitative information on magic mushroom strain potencies, we turn to events like the Psilocybin Cup — which allow entrants to submit samples for testing. The samples are sent through high-performance chromatography to rank the potency of psilocybin, psilocin, and various other psychoactive tryptamines.
So far, APE has been entered in this competition 32 times.
Out of all these tests, the average psilocybin content was found to be around 0.93%. The average psilocin was 0.14%. And the average total tryptamine levels were 1.10%.
The highest concentration recorded was 2.34% in a sample submitted by Dr. Greythumb in spring 2021.
Albino Penis Envy is reliably strong, but not the strongest. It produces a strong body high with waves of euphoric energy and intense closed- and open-eye visuals. This strain is definitely for those who are experienced with psychedelics. It’s not recommended for first-time trippers or beginner growers.
Albino Penis Envy Variations & Genetic Relatives
Albino Penis Envy is a non-pigmented variant of the original Penis Envy strain. Penis Envy genetics are extremely popular, and several variations exist, including:
Penis Envy (original)
Penis Envy #6
Penis Envy Uncut
Tidal Wave
Melmac
Trans Envy
Trinity
White Rabbit
Strains vs. Species: What’s the Difference?
When you first jump into the world of mushroom cultivation, you’ll see the two terms “strain” and “species” thrown around. Now, unless you have some experience with taxonomy, this may be a little confusing. Luckily, the two terms are pretty easily described and understood.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different species of psychedelic mushrooms on planet earth — Psilocybe cubensis species is one of them. Hundreds of different strains exist within this popular species.
So how can a single mushroom species have so many different-looking shrooms?
The word “species” defines a group of organisms that share the same characteristics. “Strain” is the word used to describe different genetic variants within a species. Although two strains can look vastly different from one another, they belong to the same species because they’re biologically similar on a basic level.
Although Penis Envy looks extremely different from Golden Teacher, they are simply genetic variants (strains) of the same species of fungi.
Strains exist in all the kingdoms. Just look at the plant kingdom, for example. The cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica) has hundreds of different genetic variants too. You’ll find strains that look, smell, and grow differently from each other, but they all belong to the same species.