Speaker: Caine Barlow, Entheogenesis Australis, Entheome Foundation
About: Tech savy mushroom foragers are contributing lots of new genetic barcoding data to help better classify a variety of fungi, including Psilocybe. Through exploring data, we are able to create a picture of the dynamics within and between Psilocybe species. Well known species in Psilocybe reveal the commonly used barcoding gene ITS is more problematic than expected. New species of Psilocybe being found in Australia contribute to a dynamic picture of species movement.
Bio: Caine Barlow is a Fungi Educator and Mycologist based in Melbourne, Australia. He has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tasmania, and a Master of Science from the University of Melbourne. Caine also has qualifications in horticulture and permaculture. He works closely with the Australian organisation Entheogenesis Australis, and is a co-founder of US-based organisation The Entheome Foundation.
Caine started foraging mushrooms in the early 1990’s, and has been cultivating gourmet fungi since the mid 2000’s. He has taught mushroom cultivation through private workshops, through mycological societies, Entheogenesis Australis events, Fungi Academy, and numerous mushroom themed events. He has co-written and delivered workshops with Mycommunity Applied Mycology, and co-wrote and delivered content for DoubleBlind’s 102 Mushroom cultivation course. Caine is a mentor for Milkwood for their online Mushroom Cultivation course.
He has written for Entheogenesis Australis, DoubleBlind, ThirdWave, MicroDose, and Healing Maps. Caine is the author of the Wakeful Mushroom Cultivation Journal, published in 2024 by Wakeful Travel. He is an admin and moderator on many Facebook groups. In addition to fungi, he has had a long-term interest in ethnobotany, ethnobotanical literature, and growing medicinal plants.
