Scientists identify mushroom that causes visions of tiny people — ScienceDaily

Researchers at the University of Utah have identified the mushroom Lanmaoa asiatica, after consuming which residents of southwestern China and the Cordillera region of the Philippines reported visions of tiny human figures. DNA sequencing showed that the mushrooms known in China as Jian shou qing and in the Philippines as Sedesdem belong to the same species, ScienceDaily reports.

DNA confirmed the connection between two regions

The study was conducted by doctoral student Colin Domnauer and mycologist Bryn Dentinger, affiliated with the University of Utah and the Natural History Museum of Utah. The results of their work were published in the journal Mycologia. The scientists collected samples in China’s Yunnan province and in the Philippines, and also examined other members of the genus Lanmaoa from natural habitats and fungarium collections.

Previously, L. asiatica was considered a species found only in China. The researchers also planned to collect samples in Papua New Guinea, where similar reports of visions had been recorded as early as the 1930s, but were unable to obtain material for genetic comparison because of drought.

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An unknown substance

Such visions are called Lilliputian hallucinations, by analogy with the inhabitants of Lilliput from the novel “Gulliver’s Travels.” People described dozens or hundreds of figures approximately 3 to 30 centimeters tall, which allegedly moved among objects and interacted with their surroundings. According to local residents, a similar effect sometimes occurred after insufficient heat treatment of the mushrooms.

Chemical and genetic analysis did not detect known psychoactive compounds in L. asiatica, including psilocybin. The authors suggest that the mushroom may produce a psychoactive substance that has not yet been identified. The team’s next goal is to isolate it and determine its chemical nature, which may help study the mechanisms of unusual visual experiences and hallucinations in certain neurological conditions.

During the analysis of 53 samples, the scientists also identified 17 species in the genus Lanmaoa, including four previously unknown to science. At present, L. asiatica is the only species in this genus known to have psychoactive effects.