{"id":261019,"date":"2025-12-17T11:51:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/?p=261019"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:51:32","slug":"santas-elves-this-psychedelic-mushroom-gives-visions-of-tiny-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/blog\/santas-elves-this-psychedelic-mushroom-gives-visions-of-tiny-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa’s Elves? This Psychedelic Mushroom Gives Visions of Tiny Humans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mushroom That Brings Fairy Tales to Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Based on research and writing by Colin Domnauer, doctoral student, School of Biological Sciences, Natural History Museum of Utah<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Picture this: You\u2019re 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not dreaming \u2014 you\u2019ve just experienced the effects of a mushroom known scientifically as Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em>. It belongs to an entirely different class of fungi than the more commonly known \u201cmagic mushrooms\u201d and remains far more mysterious.” \u2014 Colin Domnauer<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Drawing on years of fieldwork, cultural investigation, and laboratory analysis, Domnauer\u2019s research explores one of the strangest and most consistent hallucinogenic phenomena ever linked to a mushroom. At its centre is Lanmaoa asiatica<\/a><\/em>, a wild edible fungus capable of producing wacky hallucinations<\/strong> \u2014 vivid visions of tiny people rampaging through the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike classic psychedelic mushrooms, Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em> belongs to a completely different branch of the fungal family tree. And despite being consumed for generations, its psychoactive effects have remained largely unexplained \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lanmaoa asiatica (photo credit Natural History Museum of Utah and Colin Domnauer)<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Century-Old Mystery from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The earliest written accounts of this phenomenon date back to 1934<\/strong>, when Western explorers entered the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. There, they observed local communities consuming a mushroom known as \u201cnonda.\u201d<\/strong> After eating it, some individuals appeared to undergo sudden and dramatic shifts in mood and behaviour \u2014 a phenomenon outsiders described as \u201cmushroom madness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later ethnographic reports provided a more precise description. Those affected often experienced lilliputian hallucinations<\/strong>, a rare psychiatric syndrome named after the tiny inhabitants of Gulliver\u2019s Travels<\/em>. One elder recalled seeing \u201ctiny people with mushrooms around their faces\u2026 teasing him,\u201d<\/em> as he tried unsuccessfully to chase them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, scientists struggled to identify the mushroom species involved or the chemical mechanisms behind its effects. These unresolved questions form the foundation of Domnauer\u2019s doctoral research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yunnan, China: Where the Little People Are Well Known<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In southwest China\u2019s Yunnan Province<\/strong>, one of the world\u2019s most mushroom-rich regions, these experiences are far from obscure. Yunnan is home to roughly 40% of all wild edible fungi<\/strong>, and mushroom markets \u2014 from street stalls to the largest wild mushroom market on Earth \u2014 are a daily part of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, a mushroom known locally as \u201cJian shou qing\u201d<\/em><\/strong> is both beloved and cautiously respected. When undercooked, it frequently causes hallucinations, most famously visions of \u201cxiao ren ren,\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>eller little people.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his article, Domnauer recounts a story shared by a professor in Yunnan who, after eating stir-fried mushrooms, noticed swirling colours and shapes. Expecting the familiar phenomenon, he lifted the tablecloth and discovered \u201chundreds of xiao ren ren, marching like soldiers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more astonishingly, he described how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen I lifted the tablecloth higher, the heads came off and stuck to the bottom of the cloth and the bodies kept marching in place\u2026 I measured them too\u2026 they were 2 cm high.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hospital records in Yunnan support these anecdotes. According to Domnauer\u2019s reporting, 96% of patients affected by Jian shou qing describe seeing little people or elves<\/strong>, often dancing, jumping, or marching through their surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Mushroom New to Science \u2014 but Ancient to Culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite its long presence in markets, the scientific identity of Jian shou qing remained unknown until 2014<\/strong>. As Domnauer explains, mycologists finally sequenced specimens purchased from open-air markets and discovered the mushroom was new to science<\/strong>. It was formally named Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intriguingly, it is not closely related to known hallucinogenic mushrooms. Instead, it shares closer evolutionary ties with porcini mushrooms<\/strong>, which is Utah\u2019s state mushroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet cultural references to its effects may stretch back far beyond modern science. Domnauer points to a 3rd-century Daoist text<\/strong> describing a \u201cflesh spirit mushroom\u201d<\/em> which, when eaten raw, allows one to \u201csee a little person\u201d<\/em> og \u201cattain transcendence immediately\u201d<\/em> \u2014 an uncanny echo of contemporary accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Philippines: A Breakthrough Moment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the most important contributions of Domnauer\u2019s research comes from the Northern Cordillera of the Philippines<\/strong>, where Indigenous communities collect a mushroom called \u201cSedesdem.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Esteemed as a food source, it is also known to sometimes produce visions of small beings called the \u201cansisit.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until recently, no scientific surveys had been conducted in this region. In 2024<\/strong>, Domnauer travelled there, working with local guides to collect fungal samples now preserved at the Natural History Museum of Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result was pivotal: DNA sequencing revealed that Sedesdem is genetically identical to Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 the same species found in Yunnan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This discovery tied together reports from Papua New Guinea, China, and the Philippines, transforming scattered folklore into a coherent mycological story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lepanto Village, Cordillera Mountains, Benguet, Luzon. Philippines, 1903 (via Creative Commons)<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Beyond Myth: A New Frontier in Neurochemistry<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

As Domnauer emphasises, the consistency of these hallucinations across cultures indicates a shared chemical and neurological basis<\/strong>, not coincidence or exaggeration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chemical analyses conducted at the Natural History Museum of Utah have found no known psychoactive compounds<\/strong> p\u00e5 Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em>. This suggests the mushroom contains an entirely undiscovered hallucinogenic molecule<\/strong> \u2014 one capable of reliably producing lilliputian hallucinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal studies reinforce this conclusion. Mice given extracts of the mushroom show clear behavioural changes, and ongoing research is steadily narrowing down the specific bioactive compounds involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapping the Evolution of a Psychedelic Lineage<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Alongside chemical research, Domnauer is also building a global genomic database of the genus Lanmaoa<\/em><\/strong>. This work has already led to the discovery of four new species previously unknown to science<\/strong> and the first clear evolutionary map of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One surprising finding is that L. asiatica<\/em>\u2019s closest relative grows in North America<\/strong>. While it is rarely eaten and not known to be psychoactive, Domnauer suggests its effects may simply have gone unnoticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Heather Newsom on Unsplash<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Story Still Unfolding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At its heart, this research reveals how deeply intertwined human culture and fungi truly are. From ancient Daoist texts to modern hospital records, from remote forests to cutting-edge genomics, Lanmaoa asiatica<\/em> bridges folklore and biology in extraordinary ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Domnauer\u2019s work continues, new questions emerge. How many more cultures know this mushroom by other names? How far back does humanity\u2019s relationship with it extend? What might its chemistry reveal about the human mind itself? And who the heck are those elves?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is certain: as Colin Domnauer\u2019s research shows, even the most familiar foods can hide profound mysteries. Somewhere between the forest floor and the laboratory bench, between fairy tales and neuroscience, the story of this remarkable mushroom is still being written. \ud83c\udf44\u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know there’s been a psychedelic mushroom causing visions of tiny humanoids for centuries? Only just identified to science, it’s a fascinating tale of elves, coincidence, and… soup?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":261305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,133],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-261019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mycology","category-philosophy-and-spirituality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261019"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261147,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261019\/revisions\/261147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261019"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=261019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}