Scientists are trying to isolate the molecular compound found in rare Chinese mushrooms that causes people who eat them raw to experience remarkably similar hallucinations involving the appearances of diminutive people everywhere.
“You’re enjoying a delicious bowl of mushroom soup, when suddenly you notice hundreds of tiny people dressed in cartoonish clothing marching across your tablecloth, jumping into your bowl, swimming around, and clinging to your spoon as you lift it for another taste,” a summary of the research on the museum’s website explains.
The researchers behind the ongoing study say the suspect mushroom, Lanmaoa asiatica, is not the same as psilocybin mushrooms, which are well known for their hallucinatory properties, but instead represents an entirely different type of fungus.
If the search for the mushroom’s chemical mechanism is successful, the researchers suggest L. asiatica could offer some therapeutic applications. Unlocking the mushroom’s mechanism may also offer previously unavailable insights into the mystery of consciousness and help researchers further explore the link between the human mind and reality.
Researcher ‘Driven by Curiosity’ About Hallucination-Inducing Fungus
Giuliana Furci, a mycologist and the founder and executive director of the Fungi Foundation, said there were historical accounts of a mushroom that caused those who ate it to see visions of little people, a phenomenon researchers call “lilliputian hallucinations” after the tiny people in Gulliver’s Travels. However, she notes, while many people looked for the mysterious fungus, “they never found the species.”
Anecdotally, the evidence pointed to L. asiatica, a mushroom popular in Yunnan Province, China, for its savory flavor. Notably, people who eat the cooked version of these mushrooms don’t experience any psychedelic effects.
Colin Domnauer, a doctoral candidate in biology at the University of Utah and the Natural History Museum of Utah and the leader of a team exploring the origin of the lilliputian hallucinations, said the mere idea of a mushroom that can cause hallucinations of little people seemed scientifically unusual at the least.
“It sounded so bizarre that there could be a mushroom out there causing fairytale-like visions reported across cultures and time,” Domnauer says. “I was perplexed and driven by curiosity to find out more.”
Still, the researcher noted, when he visited a restaurant in Yunnan, the server warned them not to eat the food until the 15-minute cooking timer went off, “or you might see little people.”
“It seems like very common knowledge in the culture there,” Domnauer explained.
Initial Search Finds History of Scientific Breadcrumbs
Months before that meal, Domnauer examined historical accounts from a 1991 study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The authors of that effort described several cases of people in Yunnan experiencing “lilliputian hallucinations” after eating local mushrooms. They also said that patients saw the tiny human-like figures “moving about everywhere.”
Although some minor details may vary, the nearly identical hallucinations almost always involved more than 10 minuscule figures. The experiencers also reported that the tiny people seemed to appear everywhere.
“They saw them on their clothes when they were dressing and saw them on their dishes when eating,” the researchers explained. The Chinese researchers noted that the visions were even more vivid when the patients’ eyes were closed.
While there was very little prior scientific data on the specific fungus at the root of the unusual, often disturbing experiences, Domnauer noted that descriptions of the hallucinations caused by L. asiatica were unusually similar. For comparison, hallucinations caused by magic mushrooms, LSD, or other known compounds are typically described as idiosyncratic since they vary from person to person.
“The perception of little people is very reliably and repeatedly reported,” the researcher explained. “I don’t know of anything else that produces such consistent hallucinations.”
Laboratory Tests Reveal Tantalizing Results
After scouring the available research, Domnauer traveled to Yunnan during the peak summer mushroom harvesting season. Hoping to tap into the local knowledge about L. asiatica, the researcher said he asked vendors at local fungi markets which of their mushrooms “makes you see little people?”
After procuring the mushrooms identified by locals as the hallucinatory culprit, Domnauer brought them to the lab for a detailed analysis. This included sequencing the mushroom’s genome, which genetically confirmed its identity.
Next, the researchers gave some of the mushrooms to laboratory mice. Although the mice could not report hallucinations, the researcher found they experienced behavioral changes similar to those described by human consumers. Most notably, the mice initially experienced a period of hyperactivity before settling into a long, nearly motionless phase.
Although human tests may offer more insight into the lilliputian hallucinations, Domnauer said he has avoided taking them himself for two key reasons. First, L. asiatica is known to cause much longer hallucination periods than psilocybin, with most reports suggesting they last anywhere from one to three days. Second, some of these trips have resulted in a week-long hospitalization and caused extended periods of dizziness and delirium.
Domnauer believes these adverse side effects may explain why it isn’t used for its hallucinatory properties.
“It was always just eaten for food,” he explained.
Therapeutic Possibilities and Clues to Consciousness
Damnauer and his team have yet to isolate and characterize the exact chemical compound in L. asiatica that causes consistently similar hallucinations. However, the researchers have determined that it is chemically different from psilocybin, and said tests indicate it is likely unrelated to any other known psychedelic compound.
When discussing the potential scientific value of unraveling the mechanisms behind the lilliputian hallucinations, Domnauer said it could lead to new understandings about the mystery of human consciousness and potentially illuminate the relationship between the human mind and reality itself.
Dennis McKenna, an ethnopharmacologist and director of the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, said that understanding the chemical properties of L. asiatica could lead to therapeutic use. However, McKenna noted, “it remains to be seen.”
Since scientists estimate only 5% of the world’s fungal species have been scientifically characterized, Furci said studies like those undertaken by Domnauer and colleagues offer ‘enormous potential’ for new discoveries.
“Fungi hold a very large biochemical and pharmacological library that we’re only just beginning to tap into,” she explained.
“There’s still a world of discoveries to be made.”
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.