Hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms, also known aspsychoactive bolete mushrooms or as"xiao ren ren" mushrooms, areboletemushrooms that producehallucinogenic effects and are a type ofhallucinogenic mushroom.[1][3][4][5][6][7] They have been reported inPapua New Guinea,China, and thePhilippines.[1][4][5][8]
The exact species of the mushrooms, their active constituents, and theirmechanism of action have all yet to be fully clarified.[3] However, among the most frequently implicated species isLanmaoa asiatica.[1][9][10][11][12][13] Hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms are said to make people see the "xiao ren ren" or "little people" and hence to experienceLilliputian hallucinations.[6][12][1] Lilliputian hallucinations are a unique type of hallucination and are not necessarily consistent with the hallucinogenic effects of other psychoactive mushrooms.[12][14]
Other much more well-known hallucinogenic mushrooms includepsilocybin-containing mushrooms (which contain theserotonin5-HT2A receptoragonist andserotonergic psychedelicpsilocybin) andAmanita muscaria mushrooms (which contain theGABAA receptor agonist anddissociativehallucinogenmuscimol).[4][15][16][17]
Certain bolete andrussule mushrooms have been used inshamanic practices inPapua New Guinea by the Kuma people and other ethnic groups and have been reported to cause "madness".[4][1][18] However, findings are conflicting and this area is controversial.[4][1][19][18] Various mushroom species have been reported to have been consumed by the Kuma people, including notablyBoletus manicus andTylopilus nigerrimus.[1]Psilocybe mushrooms are also present in these areas and known by the locals, but are considered inedible and are not consumed.[1]
It was first reported by a missionary in 1936 that some bolete mushrooms consumed by natives in Papua New Guinea caused "madness".[18][12] Subsequently, this phenomenon was described in more detail by anthropologistMarie Reay in the late 1950s, who reported that the mushrooms causedLilliputian hallucinations.[12][18][1] Then, in the mid-1960s, mycologistsGordon Wasson andRoger Heim surveyed 400 mushrooms in the area, described six species claimed to cause "mushroom madness", and sent one purportedly hallucinogenic species,Boletus manicus, toGermanchemistAlbert Hofmann forchemical analysis.[18][20][19][12]Boletus manicus was found by Hofmann known to contain trace amounts of three unidentifiedindolic compounds.[20][19][3] However, the quantities were too low to allow for identification, and hence the active constituents were not identified.[20][6][3] In any case, the detected indolic compounds would need to be extremelypotent, on par withlysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), to account for the claimed hallucinogenic effects ofBoletus manicus.[20][19][6] The hypothesis that these indolic compounds are indeed highly potent hallucinogens has been treated both seriously, for instance by Heim, and critiqued and discounted, for instance byethnobotanistJonathan Ott.[20][19] Heim, who notably discoveredBoletus manicus, reported threeself-experiments with consumption of tiny amounts of the mushroom that resulted instrange dreams on one occasion, but clearly perceptible and uncontroversial psychoactive effects were not experienced.[1][18]
Heim, Wasson, and Reay ultimately concluded in the 1960s that, due to their inability to identify active constituents and due to the lack of consistency in reported effects, the claims of "mushroom madness" were really just "social catharsis" and ritualistically and theatrically "acting out", rather than a pharmacological effect of the mushrooms.[1][18][12] On the other hand, Giorgio Samorini, a contemporary psychedelic researcher, has theorized that this conclusion may have been premature and that the mushrooms may indeed be psychoactive.[1] In a 2006 survey of the village by Roland Treu and Win Adamson, it was found that much of the local knowledge of the mushrooms had been lost and the last known incidence of the mushrooms being consumed and producing hallucinogenic effects was in the mid-1980s.[12][18] Only a few people with direct experience with the mushrooms remained alive.[18] One man asserted that the mushrooms did indeed cause him to experience Lilliputian hallucinations.[18]
Certain blue-staining edible boletes in theYunnan province ofChina are said to be hallucinogenic mushrooms.[1][6][7][5] This was first reported in 1991, was observed by mycologistDavid Arora by 1997, and was more thoroughly reported by Arora in 2008.[12][6][7][21] However, theChineseDaoistGe Hong wrote inBaopuzi (The Master Who Embraces Simplicity) around 300 CE that eating a certain wild mushroom raw would result in attainment oftranscendence immediately, suggesting that the mushrooms may have been known for thousands of years.[22] The Yunnan mushrooms are said to become non-hallucinogenic with proper cooking (for at least 15 to 25 minutes), which presumably destroys their active constituents, and are commonly consumed in well-cooked form as food in the province.[1][6] There have been cases of unintended hallucinogenic mushroom poisonings when the mushrooms are accidentally undercooked or are eaten in large quantities.[1][6] However, it has been suggested that some level of cooking might be required for the mushrooms to become hallucinogenic.[6] The mushrooms are said to make people see the "xiao ren ren", meaning "lots of little men or people", and these hallucinations are said to be reminiscent ofLilliputian hallucinations.[1][4][5][6] Aside from "xiao ren ren" hallucinations, the hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms are also reported to make people see walls moving and shifting, geometrical patterns, and strange shapes and object transformations (like shoelaces turning into butterflies that fly away), to make everything appear very beautiful, and to produce other effects such asgastrointestinal distress.[1][6][5]
The exact bolete species that produce hallucinogenic effects are not entirely clear, at least as of 2008, due to difficulty in identification, due to many of the different species closely resembling one another on account ofconvergent evolution, and related to the fact that the people in the region are known to eat hundreds of different mushroom species.[1][6][12] As a result, it is unclear whether it is one species or multiple that may be causing the hallucinations.[12] In any case, popular edible bolete species in the province includeButyriboletus roseoflavus,Lanmaoa asiatica,Sutorius magnificus, andRubroboletus sinicus.[5][12] The active constituents of the mushrooms likewise have not yet been identified and are unknown.[6][3] The phenomenon of hallucinogenic bolete mushroom intoxication in China is well-known and frequently covered in local and national media in the country.[1][23][24][25][26]
The earliest report, published in 1991 by a Yunnan hospital, described 300 cases ofBoletus speciosus poisonings, with effects starting 6 to 24 hours after consumption, lasting days to months, and including bothopen-eye andclosed-eye Lilliputian hallucinations of people and animals.[12][21] Other effects in more serious cases includedpsychosis- orschizophrenia-like symptoms,auditory hallucinations,pareidolia,disturbed thinking,aberrant behavior,personality disintegration, andstupor.[21] Most cases resolved within a few days, some within 10 to 30 days, in a subset of cases after more than a month, and in a few cases within half a year.[21] There were no deaths or relapses.[21] In those with stupor,electroencephalogram (EEG) found LSD-like changes.[21] Theantipsychoticchlorpromazine was reportedly effective in managing symptoms.[21] The same researchers administered extracts of the mushrooms to animals, including to dogs and to arhesus monkey, and found that they produced abnormal behavior that started after 5 to 12 hours and lasted up to 2 days.[12][21] Stupor was likewise observed in the monkey.[21]
A news article in 2014 reported that a Yunnan woman was purposely and repeatedly consuming hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms so that she could have hallucinations of and thereby see her deceased daughter.[12][27] Acase series ofBoletus speciosus (porcini) mushrooms causingvisual andauditory hallucinations in two women was published in theChinese literature by aBeijing hospital in 2014.[1][2] The symptoms onset after 6 to 12 hours, resulted in the women going to thehospital after 12 hours, and lasted for up to 5 days.[1][2] Similarly, in 2016, a case report was published of hallucinogenic mushroom poisoning in aHong Kong woman who had consumed a bolete that had been purchased in the Yunnan province.[1][28] Her symptoms includeddizziness,malaise, andvisual hallucinations.[1][28] They onset 10 hours after consumption and resolved after 48 hours.[1][28] The mushroom was identified asTylopilus nigerrimus and is generally considered inedible.[1][28] This was the first report of hallucinogenic effects with this mushroom species in the English-language literature.[1][28] Larger series of mushroom poisonings, including hallucinations, have also been reported in 2022, 2023, and 2024.[1][9][10][11][13] In the 2024 series, of 81 patients, symptoms onset after 12 to 24 hours, notably longer than other hallucinogenic mushrooms, were often accompanied by other symptoms such asnausea (54%),vomiting (44%),fatigue (49%),dizziness (36%),diarrhea (15%), andabdominal pain (7.4%), resolved within 1 to 5 days in almost all cases (93%), and no deaths or abnormalities invitals orblood tests were observed.[13]Lanmaoa asiatica is one of the more frequently implicated bolete mushrooms in producing hallucinogenic effects.[1][9][10][11][12][13] Other reportedly implicated species have includedButyriboletus roseoflavus andNeoboletus magnificus, and some of their constituents have been characterized.[1]
Americanethnobiologist Colin Domnauer andmycologist Bryn Dentinger have been studying hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms in the 2020s.[12][29][30][31] Dentinger is said to be one of the world's leading experts on bolete mushrooms.[30] In 2023, it was reported that Domnauer had recently visited Yunnan to collect samples of hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms.[29][31] Also in 2023, Domnauer and Dentinger published aconference abstract in which they sampled and assessed 12 of the 13 currently accepted species ofLanmaoa mushrooms towards investigations of the psychoactive Yunnan mushrooms.[31] Chinese researchers are also studying the mushroom poisonings.[9][10][11][13][21]
United States Treasury SecretaryJanet Yellen, unbeknownst to her at the time, ate cooked (and thus inactivated) hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms at a restaurant while visiting China in 2023, and this was widely covered in the media when it occurred.[29][24][32][33][34]
In 2024, Domnauer published that he had traveled not only to southern China but also to the northernPhilippines in his studies of hallucinogenicLanmaoa asiatica mushrooms.[8][35] This was inSagada in the PhilippineCordilleras, to investigate blue-staining boletes, known as "Sedesdem", that were said to be regularly eaten and would irregularly cause people to see the "Ansisit" or "little people" (i.e., alsoLilliputian hallucinations).[8][35]
OtherLanmaoa species closely related toLanmaoa asiatica, such asLanmaoa pallidorosea,Lanmaoa carminipes, andLanmaoa flavorubra, exist inNorth America.[12] However, there are no reports of such species causing hallucinogenic effects in North America orEurope or anywhere outside of China and Papua New Guinea.[12] In any case, such mushrooms are also not commonly eaten in North America due to apparent stigma against consumption of blue-staining mushrooms in this part of the world, and so possible hallucinogenic effects of such mushrooms may have been missed.[12]
Boletus curtisii is known to contain β-carboline-1-propanoic acid and certain otherβ-carbolines.[3][36][37]Imleria badia andXerocomellus chrysenteron, which are also bolete mushrooms, have been reported to produce variable amounts ofβ-phenethylamine,tyramine, andtryptamine.[12][38] Various chemical constituents, includingpharmacologically active compounds, have been isolated fromLanmaoa asiatica.[39][40][41][42]
It has been hypothesized that hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms might have picked upgenes producing hallucinogenic compounds from other hallucinogenic mushrooms likePsilocybe andAmanita mushrooms viahorizontal gene transfer.[12][31] However,genetic analysis ofLanmaoa mushrooms published in 2023 found no evidence of this, suggesting that a novel class of hallucinogens may be present in the mushrooms.[31] Relatedly, hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms are not thought to containpsilocybin.[26]
Dennis McKenna has suggested that the effects of hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms might be consistent with aDatura-likeanticholinergicdelirium.[43]
The plasmametabolic profiles of people experiencing hallucinogenicLanmaoa asiatica poisoning were studied in 2025.[44]
[Translated:] Both patients were young women who came to our hospital for treatment in July 2011 and May 2012 respectively because of "auditory and visual hallucinations 12 hours after eating porcini mushrooms". Both patients developed symptoms 6 to 12 hours after eating stir-fried porcini mushrooms (about 250-500 g). One patient presented with "Lilliputian hallucinations" accompanied by auditory hallucinations, saying that she felt like she had entered Lilliputian, where there were little people less than 33 cm tall everywhere, with various faces, wearing red and green, lively and extremely naughty, and her voices could be heard. The mushrooms around her were colorful. The patient thought that world was very beautiful. Because she was afraid that these images would disappear, she kept chanting Buddhist scriptures, shouting, and staying up all night. The other patient had visual and auditory hallucinations, saw many small animals such as rabbits and squirrels around her out of thin air, heard their cries, felt that these small animals were going to bite her, slapped her hands in the air, was nervous and afraid, and dared not fall asleep. She had a healthy past and denied exposure to toxins and substance abuse. The vital signs of the two patients were stable, and the gastrointestinal symptoms were mild (nausea, stomach discomfort); no positive signs were found in the neurological and physical examinations. No obvious abnormal results were found in the auxiliary examinations. One of the patients had a blood sample sent to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Institute of Toxicology for serum toxicology examination, which showed that the concentration of tramadol in the serum was 0.5 ug/ml, which was a toxic dose. The two patients were given gastric lavage, fluid replacement and other treatments on the day of consultation, and haloperidol 2.5-10 mg/d was injected intramuscularly. After 5 days, the mental symptoms disappeared.
Table 2. Classification of psychoactive mushrooms, bioactive markers, and psychotropic mechanism according to Guzman et al. [42]. [...] Group: 4. Psychoactive Markers: Indole-type alkaloids. Scaffold: Not fully identified. Example: Chemical studies are still required. Psychotropic Mechanism: Not elucidated yet. Representative Mushroom Genus: Boletus, Heimiella, Russula and some gasteromycetes. [...] Finally, in the fourth group, Guzman suggested to gather basidiomycetes of the Russula, Boletus, and Heimiella genera, as well as other gasteroid mushrooms, which are recognized as sacred in different tribes worldwide but lack accurate chemical identification of their psychoactive compounds. In this context, chemical and pharmacological studies featuring these basidiomycetes are still required to have their psychoactive markers identified. [...] Table 3. Structure, sources, and extraction methods of some representative mushroom-derived indole alkaloids. [...] Indole Type: β-carbolines. Alkaloid: β-Carboline-1-propanoic acid. Fungal Sources: Boletus curtisii and Cortinarius brunneus. Extraction Methods: [...] Ref.: [55,65].
Concerning the bolets and russules (Figs. 4 and 5), these mushrooms were used in Papua New Guinea some time ago, in some shamanic practices.12,13 They produced some stages of madness in the people12–14; however, we have but little and confusing information on them, even though the first works began in 1947.14 We also have information on some edible bolets from China,15,16 where some bolets are sold in the markets, but with the advice from the sellers, that it is necessary to cook the mushrooms well. In some reports, the raw mushrooms produced visions of some little men or soldiers marching on the table.16 [...] Some bolets and russules were used in Papua New Guinea,4,12–14 and certainly edible bolets producing hallucinations were used in China if they were not well cooked.15,16 [...] Of these works, that by Dikov described some anthropoid petroglyphs in Siberia, which seem to be representations of the use of A. muscaria by the Siberians. However, Guzmán studied copies of those petroglyphs shown by Samorini33 and observed some isolated fungoid figures that are similar to some bolets. If this is true, we have an interesting connection with those bolets used in Papua New Guinea and China,15,16 which needs more study.
Some boletes known as "jian-shou-qing" (turning blue when bruised or cut) are considered hallucinogenic, causing visions that Yunnan's people call "xiao-ren-ren" (little men or little people, similar to the "Lilliputian hallucinations" found in the Kuma people from New Guinea) (Arora 2008). Among these boletes are Butyriboletus roseoflavus, Lanmaoa asiatica, and Sutorius magnificus, all commonly collected in Yunnan and even more popular than porcini (Fig. 6.10) (Wang et al. 2004). Though some of these species can cause gastrointestinal distress, the local people continue to consume them (Arora 2008).
During a recent trip to China, the American mycologist David Arora observed that in some regions more than 50 different boletes are sold and eaten. Most popular are strongly blueing species. Arora was surprised to learn that everybody, i.e. farmers, pickers, sellers and shopkeepers gave warnings which all amounted to the same thing: if you don't cook those boletes well enough, you will see "the little men". This was of course most intriguing, and Arora actually interviewed some persons who could matter-of-factly recount their experiences. A young woman working as a computer operator remembered vividly that, when she was a child, she and her sister (the two youngest in the family) showed symptoms after having eaten blueing boletes at home. She recalled very clearly that walls and shapes were moving, and when she stared at a dripping water faucet, each droplet falling in the sink would turn into an insect and crawl away. This continued for as long as two days (!), and their mother never again served boletes to her family. A more recent case concerned a university graduate who consumed apparently unsufficiently cooked boletes and soon after saw a whole regiment of 2 cm tall soldiers marching over the table-cloth. This is rather odd, since psychoactive boletes are unknown in Europe and in the USA. There is only the well-known work of Roger Heim et al. mentioning the use of boletes by the Kuma tribe of New Guinea to induce a kind of collective mania. However, these authors were unable to isolate any active principle, and its very existence has been questioned. The self-experiments made by the investigators did not convince them. I would appreciate to hear from readers who heard about or underwent similar experiences, in China or elsewhere. Any suggestions as to the identity of these boletes would be most welcome.
Colin Domnauer is a PhD candidate in Biology at the University of Utah. His research has taken him from the tropical forests of southern China to the remote mountains of the northern Philippines in search of an elusive ethnomycological mystery: a hallucinogenic bolete mushroom reported to induce visions of little people, the Lanmaoa asiatica. In his lecture, Colin unraveled the story of these enigmatic mushrooms, from their ethnographic history to modern relevance, weaving in scientific insights gained along his journey in uncovering the unknown psychoactive compounds in this mysterious mushroom.
{{cite conference}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)For more than half a century, the existence of certain species of mushrooms in the family Boletaceae ("boletes") possessing psychoactive properties has been rumored, with independent ethnographic reports emerging from Papúa New Guinea and China. In both cases, local inhabitants describe consuming a type of bolete mushroom, followed by the occurrence of various hallucinations, generally characterized by a perception of being surrounded by an abundance of colorful, diminutive creatures – clinically referred to as "Lilliputian Hallucinations". Despite the numerous and suggestive reports, the identity of psychoactive boletes remains a mycological mystery. To this date, no rigorous scientific studies have been performed that conclusively reveal the taxonomic identity or active chemical constituents of this unstudied group of psychoactive mushrooms. In this presentation, the history of psychoactive bolete reports is compiled together, our scant sum of knowledge on the topic is summarized, and future directions for research are suggested.
[Daoist Ge Hong (~300CE), inThe Master Who Embraces Simplicity 抱朴子:] "Rou zhi 肉芝 (Flesh Spirit Mushroom): If you see a little person seven to eight cun 寸 [3-33cm] tall riding in a carriage when you travel on a mountain, you have encountered a flesh spirit mushroom. Consume it raw and you will attain transcendence immediately."
Jianshouqing (见手青, Lanmaoa asiatica), native to Yunnan province, is a species of boletus that turns blueish green upon bruising or contact. It's also called red porcini mushroom (红牛肝菌) and similar to the lurid bolete (Suillellus luridus), although not poisonous. The mushroom is infamous in Yunnan for its hallucinogenic compounds, which may or may not be removable by cooking. Locals here eat it regularly and advise to cook it at least thirty minutes to be safe, but a few people still end up in the hospital every year with visions of little dancing men (xiao ren ren). Chuntian Jiejie said she cooked these for an hour. Currently, no one knows what exactly in the mushrooms causes these hallucinations, but it's different from those found in psilocybin mushrooms.
"I was not aware that these mushrooms had hallucinogenic properties," Yellen said with a laugh, [...] That's the way locals in the Yunnan province, where they are wild-foraged, typically see these mushrooms, says Colin Domnauer, a PhD candidate at the University of Utah, who has been studying them. Domnauer notes that while Americans and other westerners might prize such a mushroom because of its psychedelic qualities, the locals value it for its taste — which he describes as umami-laden and porcini-like, albeit a bit less nutty. "There's a difference in cultural attitude about the psychoactive effect — it's like the food itself is more important than this property," he says. [...] So what could explain those Lilliputian apparitions? [...] Yellen said she had read that "if the mushrooms are cooked properly, which I'm sure they were at this very good restaurant, that they have no impact." And indeed, she said, "all of us enjoyed the mushrooms, the restaurant, and none of us felt any ill effects." Domnauer recently visited Yunnan to collect samples, and he, too, dined on the local delicacy at a hot pot restaurant. There, the staff set out a timer and instructed diners to cook the mushrooms in the boiling liquid for at least 15 minutes before eating it, he said, adding that nobody experienced any hallucinations. [...] So what could explain those Lilliputian apparitions? Maybe something entirely novel, Domnauer says, possibly a compound that could have exciting uses in medicine or other applications. He likened it to when mycologists first learned about psilocybin, which is now used in various psychiatric treatments, in the 1950s after studying the mushrooms used in ancient ceremonies in northern Mexico. "There was a time when no one outside this small group in Oaxaca knew about it, and now it's spread all over," he says. [...]
We hear that you arethe expert on boletes, [...] Is it true that there is a bolete with psychoactive properties? Tell us more. We don't know. There are reports of psychoactive boletes from New Guinea and southern China. This may be a coincidence. The implicated boletes in New Guinea, originally reported in the 1930s as "mushroom madness" in highland communities, were later putatively identified and tested for indolic compounds, i.e., ones related to psilocybin and LSD, but the results were inconclusive. There haven't been any follow up studies or further documentation of the phenomenon in New Guinea since these studies in the 1970s and it is unclear if there is an actual material basis for the "madness" or what the source may be, boletes or mushrooms or something completely different. On the other hand, reports of intoxication causing "Lilliputian hallucinations" (seeing "little people") following consumption of undercooked or improperly prepared boletes occur regularly in southern China. The implicated species is known as Lanmaoa asiatica, but a great deal of confusion and contradictory information surrounds its identity as well as the source of the intoxications. We don't even know if the reports are connected to a true physiological effect, let alone what causes it. We're currently working on disentangling this mystery.
For over half a century, the existence of certain species of mushrooms in the family Boletaceae ("boletes") possessing psychoactive properties has been rumored. Such claims have developed across multiple continents, with independent ethnographic reports emerging from Papua New Guinea and Yunnan, China. In both cases, local inhabitants describe consuming an undercooked bolete mushroom which results in the occurrence of visual hallucinations. Curiously, these hallucinations are consistently experienced as a perception of being surrounded by an abundance of colorful, diminutive creatures—a phenomenon clinically referred to as "Lilliputian Hallucinations". Despite the numerous anecdotal reports, the identity and nature of such psychoactive boletes remain unknown. Here, we present a preliminary phylogenetic study resolving taxonomic relationships to the suspected psychoactive bolete from Yunnan in the recently erected genus Lanmaoa. Type specimens for 12 of the 13 currently accepted species in Lanmaoa were obtained and sequenced, many for the first time, revealing common misapplication of names to publicly available specimens, widespread cryptic species, and the presence of several undescribed taxa. Additionally, early genomic analysis has revealed the notable absence of biosynthetic gene clusters known to be involved in the production of the psychoactive fungal metabolites psilocybin and ibotenic acid, possibly indicating a novel category of hallucinogenic mushrooms is involved.
Everyone loves the magical color changing mushrooms! I travelled to Sagada in the Philippine Cordilleras to investigate their blue-staining boletes, known locally as "Sedesdem", which are regularly eaten, and irregularly lead to seeing the "Ansisit", or little people. The same psychoactive effects have been independently reported from consuming blue-staining boletes elsewhere, such as in Yunnan and Papua New Guinea. But little remains known, such as if these are all the same species, or what chemical(s) are involved. I was fortunate enough to collect samples so we can begin answering these and other interesting questions about this fascinating group of magic mushrooms. Of course, the real magic is the connections made through the journey itself. Thank you [...] and our indigenous guides for making the experience possible and pleasurable!
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)β-Carboline-1-propanoic acid (79) and its methylated derivative (80) have been identified in specimens of Boletus curtisii, a mushroom that forms a mycorrhizal relationship with hardwood and conifer trees across North America.94 [...] it has been suggested this molecule [(79)] could interact with both the benzodiazepine and GABA receptors.96 [...] The aforementioned Boletus curtisii produces an interesting collection of sulfur-containing β-carboline derivatives.94 The bright yellow coloration of this species has been attributed to the optically active, sulfoxide-containing pigments curtisin (87) and 9-deoxycurtisin (88).94 These compounds are derived from canthin-6-one (89), which was also identified in the extracts of B. curtisii along with four thiomethyl β-carboline derivatives (90−93).94