Researchers at the University of Utah have identified a mushroom species, Lanmaoa asiatica, as the cause of peculiar hallucinations experienced by individuals consuming it in Southwest China and the northern Philippines. These hallucinations, known as Lilliputian hallucinations, involve the vision of miniature human figures behaving in a lifelike manner.
Colin Domnauer, a doctoral student at the University of Utah, and Bryn Dentinger, a mycologist affiliated with the university and the Natural History Museum of Utah, conducted the study. Their findings, published in the journal Mycologia, reveal no traces of known psychoactive compounds, including psilocybin, in the mushroom. This suggests that the mushroom may produce an entirely new psychoactive substance responsible for these unique hallucinations.
Reports of similar experiences date back to 1934, when Western researchers first documented vivid visions of tiny humans among people in Papua New Guinea after consuming wild mushrooms. This phenomenon, dubbed “mushroom madness,” sparked interest in understanding its origins. In past investigations, anthropologists and mushroom specialists suggested various species as the source, but chemical analyses failed to pinpoint any active ingredients. The investigation largely stalled by the late 1960s due to insufficient findings.
The mystery resurfaced in the 1990s when reports emerged from Yunnan, China, where locals described hallucinations similar to those documented in Papua New Guinea. In 2024, Domnauer discovered reports from an Indigenous community in the Northern Cordillera region of the Philippines regarding an edible mushroom known as “Sedesdem” that produced comparable visual experiences. This marked a third independent account of mushrooms causing such hallucinations, prompting further investigation.
Domnauer traveled to both Yunnan and the Philippines to interview local residents and collect specimens, confirming that the mushrooms identified as Jian shou qing in China and Sedesdem in the Philippines were, in fact, L. asiatica. DNA analysis revealed that this mushroom species, previously thought to exist only in China, had a broader geographic range than initially understood.
Typical accounts of these hallucinations describe seeing dozens to hundreds of miniature figures, usually between 3 and 30 centimeters tall. Participants report these figures appearing vividly and behaving as if obeying the laws of physics, interacting with their surroundings in various ways. For example, one individual described tiny humans jumping from a spoon into a soup bowl.
Notably, chemical tests on L. asiatica showed no presence of known psychoactive substances, suggesting it may contain an unidentified compound that triggers these hallucinations. Domnauer noted that isolating this chemical could significantly contribute to understanding visual perception, neurology, and hallucinations related to various conditions.
The research team also uncovered previously unknown fungal species during their investigation, expanding knowledge about fungal biodiversity. This work underscores the potential of fungi in producing compounds with medical benefits and highlights the need for continued exploration within this kingdom of organisms. The team aims to isolate and identify the suspected psychoactive compound in L. asiatica in future research.
