Quick answer: Stargazer is a named strain of Psilocybe cubensis with small, reddish-brown-to-gold caps and pale stems that tend to appear in dense clusters. The origin story most vendors repeat, that it was found near the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu and written up by Paul Stamets, does not hold up: Stamets never wrote about it, and no collection record exists. What is real is a stable, distinctive-looking cubensis line that has been in U.S. catalogs since the 2010s and is often described as a Golden Teacher derivative.
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 Stargazer spores?
Our Stargazer 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 Stargazer 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 or dosing, and we do not answer questions about them.
In this guide
- What Stargazer is
- The Machu Picchu story, and why it is a myth
- What is actually known about its origin
- The name
- What the mushroom looks like
- What Stargazer spores look like
- Related strains
- Legal status of Stargazer spores
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What Stargazer is
Stargazer is a strain of Psilocybe cubensis, the same species as Golden Teacher, B+, Jedi Mind Fuck and Penis Envy. Strain names are informal; there is no registry, and genome sequencing published in Current Biology in 2023 found that cultivated cubensis lines descend from a handful of founders and are highly inbred. Stargazer is worth a name because of a consistent phenotype: small caps that shift from reddish-brown to gold to pale yellow as they mature, on slender pale stems, in tight clusters. It has become one of the more requested strains of the past decade.
The Machu Picchu story, and why it is a myth
The story appears on dozens of vendor pages in nearly identical words: Stargazer was “found in the foothills of the Andes, near the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu,” was known to locals as “Inca Stargazer,” and was popularized by Paul Stamets and J.S. Chilton in their 1983 book The Mushroom Cultivator.
The Stamets claim is simply false. The Mushroom Cultivator discusses cubensis lines named for their geographic origin (Amazonian, Ecuadorian and so on) and never mentions a Stargazer. DoubleBlind’s 2022 review of the strain checked the book and called the claim “untrue.” No collector, date, herbarium specimen or photograph from Peru has ever been produced. The Inca framing seems to have been written for a product page and copied from there.
What is actually known about its origin
Stargazer entered U.S. spore catalogs in the 2010s, later than the 1980s–90s staples. Several vendors and hobbyist writers describe it as a selection or isolate taken from Golden Teacher, which its coloring makes plausible, though no one has documented the isolation. What can be said with confidence is that it has been offered continuously for roughly a decade, that it is phenotypically stable from one vendor to the next, and that it is unrelated to anything Incan.
The name
No one has recorded how Stargazer got its name. The likeliest reading is descriptive: mature caps flatten and turn their edges upward, so a cluster looks as if it is facing the sky. The “Inca Stargazer” variant of the name appears only in the marketing story.
What the mushroom looks like
- Cap: small, typically 2.5–5 cm across, convex, and notable for a color progression as it matures: reddish-brown when young, then golden-brown, then a light yellow at full maturity, often retaining a darker center. The margin turns upward with age.
- Gills: attached, closely spaced, gray to purple-brown.
- Stem: slender, pale yellow to cream, reaching about 12 cm, with a ring dusted dark by spores. Bruises blue where handled, a trait shared across the species.
- Habit: Stargazer is described and photographed in dense clusters of many small fruit bodies rather than a few large ones, which is its most recognizable trait in photographs.
- Spore print: dark purple-brown.
What Stargazer spores look like
At 400× Stargazer spores are standard cubensis: smooth, thick-walled, subellipsoid with a germ pore, purple-brown singly and near black in mass, in the species range of roughly 11–17 by 7–11 micrometers. They cannot be distinguished from Golden Teacher spores by light microscopy, which is consistent with the reported lineage.
Related strains
- Golden Teacher, the strain Stargazer is most often said to derive from; see our Golden Teacher guide.
- Isolated Stargazer, a single-line selection sold by several vendors; spores, not a culture.
Legal status of Stargazer spores
Stargazer 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 Stargazer mushroom?
A named strain of Psilocybe cubensis with small, color-shifting caps and a clustering habit, in U.S. catalogs since the 2010s.
What is the Stargazer strain’s scientific name?
Psilocybe cubensis. “Stargazer” is an informal strain name.
Was Stargazer found at Machu Picchu?
No evidence supports the Machu Picchu origin story. The claim that Paul Stamets wrote about the strain is false, and no collection record from Peru exists.
Is Stargazer a Golden Teacher?
It is widely described as a selection from Golden Teacher, and its coloring and spores are consistent with that, but the isolation was never documented.
Why is it called Stargazer?
No one knows for sure. The name probably describes mature caps that turn upward toward the sky.
Stargazer vs. Golden Teacher: what is the difference?
Stargazer fruit bodies are smaller, redder when young, and grow in dense clusters; Golden Teacher is larger with a gold cap and pale margin. Their spores are indistinguishable under a light microscope.
Are Stargazer spores legal?
Yes, for microscopy, in 46 states. Not in California, Florida, Georgia or Idaho, where we do not ship.
Do you sell Stargazer spores?
Yes. View our Stargazer spore syringe →
Sources
- Pallay A., “Stargazer Mushroom Strain” (DoubleBlind Magazine, March 23, 2022; updated December 10, 2024), which checks the Stamets claim against The Mushroom Cultivator. doubleblindmag.com
- Stamets P. and Chilton J.S. (1983). The Mushroom Cultivator. Agarikon Press. (Discusses geographically named cubensis lines; no Stargazer.)
- 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
- DEA Diversion Control Division letter on the status of spores (January 2, 2024). PDF
Stargazer spore syringe
Our Stargazer 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.
