It is believed that the mushroom is less hallucinogenic when cooked thoroughly.[2][3]Yunnanese restaurants have developed a complete system of cooking and serving standards (which includes a ban on consumingalcoholic drinks with the mushroom) to minimize poisoning, with some establishments going further to make sure to always leave a sample of the mushrooms for analysis. The local government also sendsshort messages during mushroom season to warn about the potential of poisonings.[5] Nevertheless, poisonings remain common and the treatment thereof has subsequently become aspecialty of local hospitals.[6]
Chemical and genomic analyses have shown that theLanmaoa asiatica does not contain any known psychoactive compounds such aspsilocybin ormuscimol. It is likely that there remains an unknown hallucinogenic compound yet to be discovered in this species.[2][3][7] Chemical analysis ofLanmaoa asiatica has identified numerous compounds and their pharmacological activity has been studied, but as yet none of them have been linked to the reported psychoactive effects.[8][9][10][11]
There are reports ofLilliputian hallucinations across several countries that remain unexplained.[2][3] In oneYunnan hospital doctors treat hundreds of such cases a year that manifest visions of tiny elves going under doors, climbing the furniture, and scaling walls.[3] It is considered a choice wild edible[1] because of its umami flavor, which is highly regarded in Asia.[12] "At a mushroom hot pot restaurant there, the server set a timer for 15 minutes and warned us, 'Don't eat it until the timer goes off or you might see little people,'" says Colin Domnauer, a University of Utah doctoral candidate who studiesL. asiatica.[3]
In 2023,Lanmaoa asiatica received international media attention after U.S. Treasury SecretaryJanet Yellen was reported to have eaten a dish that contained it during an official visit to China. Yellen stated that the dish had been thoroughly cooked, and she experienced no ill effects (hallucinations).[13]
^Jiànshǒuqīng is a name broadly applied to boletes that turn blue on exposure to air. The academic name for this mushroom in Chinese is 兰茂牛肝菌 "Lan Mao's bolete", after Mr. Lan Mao, the namesake of the genusLanmaoa.
^Zhang X, Liu L, Luo J, Peng X (November 2022). "Anti-aging potency correlates with metabolites fromin vitro fermentation of edible fungal polysaccharides using human fecal intestinal microflora".Food & Function.13 (22):11592–11603.doi:10.1039/d2fo01951e.PMID36268605.
^Wang Y, Lüli Y, Li X, Yang ZL, Luo H (May 2024). "Pulvinic Acid Derivative Pigments in Lanmaoa asiatica and L. macrocarpa".Chemistry & Biodiversity.21 (5) e202301996.doi:10.1002/cbdv.202301996.PMID38509847.
^Zhang B, Yang L, Ma QY, Xie QY, Guo JC, Dai HF, et al. (June 2025). "Chemical constituents from the fruiting bodies of Lanmaoa asiatica and their anti-inflammatory activity".Fitoterapia.183 106531.doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2025.106531.PMID40204044.
