"Dragon truffles" is the shared name for two products from the Dutch smartshop Dutch-Smart: Dragon's Dynamite and Dutch Dragons. Both are fresh magic truffles sold in vacuum packs of 15 grams. The names are brand names chosen by the shop, not the names of fungus species, and the shop does not say which species either product is grown from.
What a magic truffle is
A magic truffle is a sclerotium: a hard, compact mass that some fungi grow underground as a store of food. It is a different part of the fungus than the mushroom you see above ground. Sclerotia from certain Psilocybe species contain psilocybin, which the body converts into psilocin, the compound behind the change in perception (Jellinek).
According to the Jellinek, the truffles sold in Dutch smartshops mostly come from Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe tampanensis. Shops also give cultivated lines their own trade names; Dutch-Smart describes its Pajaritos truffles, for example, as a cultivated variety of P. mexicana. Dragon is such a trade name. Fresh truffles look like small stones and are hard but chewable.
A laboratory analysis of Psilocybe sclerotia by Italian researchers found only psilocybin, no psilocin, at 0.6 to 1.7 milligrams per gram of fresh truffle (Pellegrini et al., 2013). That spread of almost three to one between samples matters for any strong strain, and the strength page works through what it means.
Dragon's Dynamite
Dutch-Smart describes Dragon's Dynamite as medium-strong: stronger than Mexicana and Tampanensis, weaker than what it calls the heavier strains such as Hollandia and Space Invaders. The shop advises against it as a first ever truffle and suggests it as a next step for someone who has had a good experience with a milder strain.
The product page also gives a frank detail that is easy to miss: experienced users report that a full 15 gram pack of Dragon's Dynamite feels relatively mild to them. For someone new to truffles the same pack can be overwhelming. Both statements can be true, because experience, body weight and tolerance shift where a dose lands.
The shop sells the strain on its character: "euphoric, energetic", with more colour and sound and less inward thinking.
Dutch Dragons
Dutch Dragons is the newer of the two. Dutch-Smart calls it "a product we're proud to call our own" and describes the truffles as vivid orange. On its own product page the shop calls Dutch Dragons "very potent" and "intended for experienced users", and advises starting with a small dose without naming a number.
The shop's FAQ for Dragon's Dynamite tells a slightly different story: there, both Dragon strains "fall in the same mid-range category", with Dutch Dragons leaning "slightly more toward introspection". Those two descriptions do not fit together neatly, and nothing published settles which is closer to the truth. Until it is, the safe reading is the stronger one.
Do the two strains feel different
Shops describe strains as visual, energetic, euphoric or introspective. DRUGSinfo, the public information service of the Trimbos Institute, is blunt about this: such labels are not correct, because all truffles contain the same active substance. They do differ in strength (DRUGSinfo).
What people do notice between sessions is real, but it mostly comes from the amount taken, from the person's mood and expectations, and from the place and company. That is why this site spends a full page on set and setting, and why the choice between Dragon's Dynamite and Dutch Dragons matters less than the choice of dose.
How the effects unfold
Fresh truffles are usually eaten, sometimes brewed into tea. The effects start after about 30 to 60 minutes, come in waves, are strongest in the first two hours and fade after four to six hours (Jellinek). Common effects are brighter colours, patterns on surfaces, a changed sense of time, strong emotions in either direction, dilated pupils, and sometimes nausea and a mild rise in heart rate and blood pressure.
The mood you start with tends to be amplified. Feeling good often turns into a relaxed, cheerful state; feeling bad can turn into anxiety. That is the main risk of a strong truffle, and it is largely in your hands.
Next: how strong Dragon truffles are, how much to take, or what makes it safer.