Penis Envy is a little more penile in shape than other strains, thanks to a thicker stem and a smaller, more curved cap, but it is not noticeably more envious. While its discovery is often credited to Terrence MnKenna, he only found and collected the wild progenitor; a cultivator named Stephen Pollock discovered the mutation that would become Penis Envy while working with the material provided by McKenna.

Penis Envy is a very difficult strain to grow. It drops very few spores, those spores do not stay viable very long, and they take substantially longer to germinate than most P. cubensis spores do. Plus, the mycelium is unusually vulnerable to contamination. As a result, very few growers work with Penis Envy, making the variety rare and expensive to buy. Users pay the high prices because this strain is unusually potent.

Besides the potency, the Penis Envy trip is unusual for having a notably fast onset with wavy, rather than geometric, visuals and relatively little effect on the body—the experience feels “clean,” mental and emotional, rather than physical. It is propagated and used both in pure form and as one of the parents in a number of different popular hybrid strains.