Quick answer: Leucistic A+ is the pale version of the A+ strain of Psilocybe cubensis. Nearly every shop sells it as “Albino A+,” but it is not albino: its caps and stems are cream to white, and its spores are the same dark purple-brown as any ordinary cubensis. It appeared in 2009 as a mutation of the A strain, a catalog classic that a spore seller known as Mr. G had put on the market by 2002. Because its spores are dark and plentiful, they are much easier to see than the spores of albino strains.
Spores are legal to buy for microscopy in 46 states. Germinating them is not, which is why nothing on this page is about cultivation.
Looking for Leucistic A+ spores?
Our Leucistic A+ spore syringe is a 10 cc syringe, and it ships the same business day. Orders over $100 ship free, and our spore syringe packs save you up to 40%.
Intended use. Our Leucistic A+ spore syringes are sold for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use only. This guide covers the strain’s history, what the mushroom looks like, and what its spores look like under a microscope. It does not cover cultivation, effects, potency or dosing, and we do not answer questions about them.
In this guide
- What Leucistic A+ is
- The A strain: history and origin
- Albino A+: the 2009 mutation
- Albino vs. leucistic: why the name matters
- What the mushroom looks like
- What Leucistic A+ spores look like
- A+ vs. Leucistic A+ vs. Albino Penis Envy
- Related strains and look-alikes
- Common mistakes in other write-ups
- Legal status of Leucistic A+ spores
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What Leucistic A+ is
Leucistic A+ is a named strain of Psilocybe cubensis, the same species as every other strain in a spore catalog. It is a pale mutation of an older strain called A+ (also written “A strain” or “A Strain”), and it has been sold since 2009 under the names Albino A+, AA+ and A+ Albino. We call it Leucistic A+ because that is what it is. “Albino” means no pigment anywhere, including the spores. “Leucistic” means reduced pigment in the body while the spores stay dark. Leucistic A+ has cream-white caps and stems and drops a dark purple-brown to black spore print, so it is leucistic, and the seller who first released it said so in the same breath as naming it.
Its spores are as dark and as easy to find as Golden Teacher’s, even though the mushroom that made them is nearly white.
The A strain: history and origin
Less is known about the parent strain. The A strain is a classic of the early online spore trade, and its name is tied to a seller known as Mr. G, who ran one of the first internet spore companies, Foggy Mountain Farms, around 2000 to 2002. Forum posts from May 2000 credit him with introducing strains such as Mexi Cub and B+, and a post from April 2002 says he “also brought us the ‘a’ strain.” The most direct written statement comes from the spore vendor Ralphsters, whose long-standing A Strain listing reads: “The A Strain is a classic cube. It was originally marketed by Mr. G., ‘Creator’ of the B+.”
The key word is “marketed.” Nothing on record says Mr. G found or bred the A strain, or where it came from. Guesses in later articles range from South America to Southeast Asia, and none of them cites evidence. Mr. G’s own origin stories were not reliable; a 2002 letter from his company claimed its strains came from sunken treasure ships. What “A” stands for has never been explained, and no one recorded when the “+” was added; by December 2007, the earliest forum use we could find, hobbyists were calling it “A+ strain.”
In 2001 the vendor Sporeworks sold an “A strain” that was Psilocybe mexicana, a different species altogether. A forum thread from December 2001 shows a member assuming it was a cubensis and being corrected. Articles that say A+ “was Sporeworks’ A strain” have mixed up the two.
Albino A+: the 2009 mutation
The pale line has a clear first appearance. In June 2009 a Shroomery moderator posted the strain description written by Workman, the owner of Sporeworks, which read: “the Albino A+ is a recent leucistic mutation of Mr. G’s A Strain” and “not a true albino, just very pale, with almost white flesh.” In July 2009 Workman confirmed on the forum that “there are syringes of this strain at sporeworks.com now,” and the same thread noted that it “produces black spores.” That is the whole documented origin: a pale mutant that turned up in the A strain, isolated and released by Sporeworks in mid-2009. Who first noticed the mutant is not recorded, and there is no evidence that Mr. G had anything to do with it.
The name “Albino A+” stuck because it was the release name, not because it was accurate. The description that came with it said “leucistic” and “not a true albino” from day one, and hobbyists have been repeating the correction ever since: “AA+ is a leucistic mutation and not a true albino” (2011), “the spores are still purple” (2020). A few vendors now list it as “Leucistic A+” or “Albino (Leucistic) A+,” which is the direction we have taken.
Genetically, the strain has been sampled but not explained. The 2023 Current Biology genome study of cultivated cubensis included several Albino A+ samples from different vendors, but only as data points in its figures; the paper does not discuss where A+ sits in the family tree. A 2025 review in the Journal of Fungi mentions “the ‘Albino A+’, noted for its distinctive white, leucistic fruiting bodies,” and nothing more. A mycologist quoted by DoubleBlind in 2023 said A+ “appears most similar to Golden Teacher,” but that is an opinion, not a published result.
Albino vs. leucistic: why the name matters
- Albino lines lack pigment entirely: white fruit bodies and spores that are pale to nearly colorless. Albino Penis Envy, True Albino Teacher and Jack Frost are albino lines. Their syringes look thin and their spores are hard to see.
- Leucistic lines have reduced pigment in the body only: cream or pale caps and stems, with spores that are still dark. Leucistic A+ and Leucistic Golden Teacher are leucistic lines. Their syringes look like any other, and their spores are easy to see.
Vendors use the two words loosely, and “albino” sells, so the microscope is the arbiter. If the spores in the drop are dark, the strain is leucistic no matter what the label says. Leucistic A+ passes that test every time.
What the mushroom looks like
A+ (the pigmented parent) has rounded caps that start deep golden or caramel brown and lighten with age, on slim, tall, white to off-white stems. Its caps often carry small warts, a detail Ralphsters still uses to describe it. Gills darken to purple-brown as the spores mature.
Leucistic A+ keeps the shape and changes the color:
- Cap: cream to white, sometimes with a faint yellow tint, sometimes with a bluish undertone. Some specimens show a faintly green-tinted bump at the center of the cap.
- Stem: white, slim, of ordinary cubensis proportions. It bruises blue where handled, as every cubensis does, and the bruising stands out on pale flesh.
- Gills: pale at first, then grey to dark purple-brown as the spores ripen. Dark gills on a white mushroom are the quickest way to tell a leucistic strain from an albino one without a microscope.
- Spore print: dark purple-brown to black, thick and easy to collect. This is the trait that settles the albino question.
The pale trait is not fully fixed. The strain can throw ordinary pigmented A+ mushrooms alongside the pale ones, and hobbyists have reported “both albino and pigmented fruits” from the same source since 2011. Isolated lines, kept by cloning, are more consistent.
What Leucistic A+ spores look like
Leucistic A+ spores look like the spores of any pigmented cubensis strain.
- They are easy to see. The spores are fully pigmented, so they show up as purple-brown spores against a clear background.
- They are plentiful. Unlike Penis Envy and its albino descendants, the A+ line releases spores freely, so a Leucistic A+ syringe is dense and a drop fills the field.
- They are ordinary cubensis spores. Smooth, thick-walled, subellipsoid with a germ pore, roughly 11–17 by 7–11 micrometers.
Leucistic A+ and albino strains such as Jack Frost and Albino Penis Envy can look about equally white, but Leucistic A+ spores are dark and albino spores are nearly transparent.
A+ vs. Leucistic A+ vs. Albino Penis Envy
| A+ | Leucistic A+ (“Albino A+”) | Albino Penis Envy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Psilocybe cubensis | Psilocybe cubensis | Psilocybe cubensis |
| Origin | Marketed by Mr. G by 2002; source unknown | Pale mutation of A+, released by Sporeworks in 2009 | Penis Envy × PF Albino cross bred by John Workman, 2006–2007 |
| Pigment | Normal | Leucistic (pale body, dark spores) | Albino (pale body, pale spores) |
| Cap | Golden to caramel, rounded, often warted | Cream to white, sometimes yellow or bluish tints | White to ivory with blue tones, small and closed |
| Stem | Slim, tall, white | Slim, white | Thick, squat, white |
| Spore print | Dark purple-brown | Dark purple-brown to black | Pale to nearly colorless, sparse |
| Spores | Purple-brown, easy to see | Purple-brown, easy to see | Nearly transparent, hard to see |
Related strains and look-alikes
- A+ (A strain), the pigmented parent, still sold under that name by older vendors.
- B+, the other classic strain credited to Mr. G; see our B+ guide. Despite the matching names, there is no record that A+ and B+ are related beyond the seller.
- Rusty Whyte (also spelled Rusty White), a cross of Albino A+ with Colombian Rust Spore made by a Shroomery member in 2014. It is the best-known descendant of the leucistic line.
- Avery’s Albino is often listed as an albino form of A+. The forum record says otherwise: it is a true albino selected from the Cambodian strain, with white spore prints, and has no A+ in it.
- Leucistic Golden Teacher, the same kind of mutation in a different strain: a pale Golden Teacher with dark spores. See our Golden Teacher guide.
- Albino A++ and A++ Leucistic are vendor names for selections from the same line, not separate strains.
Common mistakes in other write-ups
- “A true albino.” It is not. Its spores are dark, the release description called it leucistic, and its name was wrong from the start.
- “Around since the 1980s” or “the 1990s.” The pale line was described as “recent” in June 2009 and went on sale in July 2009. The parent A strain was on the market by 2002.
- “Created by Mr. G.” Mr. G marketed the A strain; no record says he bred it, and the pale mutation came from Sporeworks seven years after his company’s heyday.
- “Sporeworks’ A strain.” Sporeworks’ 2001 “A strain” was Psilocybe mexicana, a different species.
- “Found in Georgia.” No source connects A+ to Georgia. That story belongs to Golden Teacher, and it is unproven there too.
- “Avery’s Albino is albino A+.” Avery’s Albino comes from Cambodian.
Legal status of Leucistic A+ spores
Leucistic A+ spores contain no psilocybin or psilocin, so under federal law and the law of 46 states they are not a controlled substance; the DEA confirmed the federal position in writing in January 2024. California and Florida restrict spores, Georgia and Idaho ban them, and we do not ship Psilocybe spores to those four states. Germinating spores is illegal under federal law everywhere. Our state-by-state legal guide has every statute.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Albino A+ mushroom?
A pale mutation of the A+ strain of Psilocybe cubensis, released by the vendor Sporeworks in 2009. It has cream-white caps and stems and dark purple-brown spores, which makes it leucistic rather than albino. We sell it as Leucistic A+.
Is Albino A+ a true albino?
No. A true albino has no pigment in its spores either. Albino A+ drops a dark spore print, so it is leucistic. The seller who released it said so in 2009.
What is the difference between Leucistic A+ and Albino A+?
None. They are the same strain. “Albino A+” is the name it was released under; “Leucistic A+” is the accurate name.
What is A+’s scientific name?
Psilocybe cubensis. “A+,” “A strain” and “Albino A+” are informal strain names.
Where did the A+ strain come from?
Nobody knows. A spore seller known as Mr. G had it on the market by 2002, and no record says where he got it.
What color are Leucistic A+ spores?
Dark purple-brown to black, like ordinary cubensis spores. They are easy to see.
Leucistic A+ vs. Albino Penis Envy: what is the difference?
Both are pale mushrooms, but APE is a true albino with nearly colorless, sparse spores and a thick, closed-cap Penis Envy shape. Leucistic A+ has an ordinary cubensis shape and dark, plentiful spores.
Are Leucistic A+ spores easy to see?
Yes. Its spores are dark and dense, so they are easy to find.
Are Albino A+ spores legal?
Yes, for microscopy, in 46 states. Not in California, Florida, Georgia or Idaho, where we do not ship.
Do you sell Albino A+ spores?
Yes, under the accurate name: a Leucistic A+ spore syringe (a 10 cc syringe) with a sterile needle and a 30-day guarantee, for microscopy and taxonomy use only. You can see all of our strains on our spore syringes page.
Sources
- Shroomery forum archive: thread #18758 (May 29, 2000) on Mr. G and Foggy Mountain Farms; thread #605259 (April 11, 2002), “he also brought us the ‘a’ strain”; thread #620306 (April 27, 2002), the Foggy Mountain Farms letter; thread #498501 (December 2001) on Sporeworks’ Psilocybe mexicana “A strain”; thread #7714177 (December 4, 2007), earliest “A+ strain” mention found; thread #10560039 (June 23, 2009), the Ralphsters A Strain text and Workman’s Albino A+ description; thread #10737483 (July 2009), Workman confirming Sporeworks syringes and the black spores; thread #14122101 (March 2011) and thread #26836100 (July 2020) on the leucistic spores; thread #25829800 (February 2019) on Avery’s Albino as a true albino Cambodian; threads #20228521 (July 2014) and #25284782 (2018) on the Rusty Whyte cross.
- Brand D.S., “Albino A+ Mushrooms” (DoubleBlind Magazine, September 29, 2023), on the Mr. G attribution, the purple to black spores and the appearance. doubleblindmag.com
- McElroy C., “A-Strain” and “Albino A+” (Tripsitter, 2022), on the appearance of both lines.
- The Genetics House, isolations list, on Rusty Whyte as Leucistic A+ × Columbian Rust Spore (thegeneticshouse.com; not linked).
- Busby M., “The Origins of Albino Penis Envy, According to the Man Who Created It” (DoubleBlind Magazine, August 1, 2024; updated August 7, 2024), interview with John Workman on his Penis Envy × PF Albino cross. doubleblindmag.com
- Shroomery forum archive (not linked): thread #5194890, “PF Albino and Penis Envy Cross Breeding,” started by Workman on January 18, 2006, with his follow-up posts that day on recessive traits; thread #7777258, “Albino Penis Envy APE 1.0,” started by Workman on December 19, 2007.
- McTaggart A.R. et al. (2023). “Domestication through clandestine cultivation constrained genetic diversity in magic mushrooms relative to naturalized populations.” Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.059
- Kurzbaum E. et al. (2025). “Exploring Psilocybe cubensis Strains.” Journal of Fungi 11(2):99. PMC11856550
- DEA Diversion Control Division letter on the status of spores (January 2, 2024). PDF
Leucistic A+ spore syringe
Our Leucistic A+ spore syringe is a 10 cc syringe filled in our ISO-7 cleanroom, with a sterile needle included. Orders placed by 1 p.m. Eastern on a weekday ship the same day, to the 46 states where spores are legal. You get free shipping on orders over $100, up to 40% off with our 3-, 5- and 10-packs, and a 30-day warranty. It is sold for microscopy and taxonomy use only.
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