Study Examines Rare Delayed Lilliputian Hallucinations Linked to Culinary Mushroom

A study published last month in the journal Mycologia examined the effects of the Lanmaoa asiatica mushroom. com reported that the fungus produces Lilliputian hallucinations of miniature people, an outcome no other known fungus creates. Typical magic mushrooms contain psilocybin or psilocin, which begin to act about 30 minutes after ingestion and generate heightened color perception, pulsating objects, moving geometric patterns, dilated pupils, elevated heart rate, nausea, and impaired coordination.

In contrast, Lanmaoa asiatica leaves users appearing functionally sober with surroundings largely unchanged except for the appearance of the figures. The hallucinations emerge 12 to 24 hours after ingestion and can persist for several days. Colin Domnauer, a postdoctoral student at the University of Utah who studies the mushroom, said the figures are three-dimensionally rendered and highly detailed, interacting with real-world objects such as crawling up chairs and tables or under doorways.

Lanmaoa asiatica is a bolete mushroom native to pine forests in southwestern China and the northern Philippines. It is wild-harvested and sold in local markets there for culinary use, though undercooked portions have long been linked anecdotally to the hallucinations. The species became known to science about 10 years ago.

Domnauer said the little people are typically described as teasing, playing with, or harassing the person who sees them, yet consumers continue to eat the mushroom because they are not afraid of the effect. No known psychoactive compounds have been identified in Lanmaoa asiatica.

Domnauer’s team is sequencing the genome of every mushroom in the Lanmaoa group, and tests on mice have narrowed the search for the responsible compound to a few candidates.