Experts explore new mushroom which causes fairytale-like hallucinations

Consistent “little people” hallucinations

• Commenters are struck that reports of tiny people/elf-like beings are so specific and cross-cultural.
• Parallels drawn to DMT “machine elves” and Salvia “Smelves,” and to “lilliputian” hallucinations in some mental illnesses.
• Several suggest this taps deep brain biases: extreme tuning for face/person detection plus pareidolia and culturally ubiquitous myths of small magical beings.

Neurochemistry and relation to known psychedelics

• The mushroom bruises blue but reportedly lacks psilocybin or muscimol, prompting speculation about a new psychoactive compound.
• Others think it’s still likely in the tryptamine family (blue bruising as a hint) or perhaps anticholinergic; enthusiasm about the possibility of a genuinely new class of psychedelics.
• Some note animal studies and reports of multi-day effects, raising questions about mechanism and cautioning against casual use.

Ethnomycology and “discovery” framing

• Multiple comments stress this is not “new” locally: such boletes are well known in parts of China and elsewhere, with folk names and long histories.
• Debate over whether the Chinese term “xiao ren ren” refers to the mushrooms or to hallucinations themselves; one cited ethnographic paper suggests the latter.
• Skepticism toward the press-release simplification that local market vendors can easily identify the one “hallucinogenic” species among similar blue-staining boletes.

Safety, toxicity, and culinary use

• Common view: interesting but not a good recreational candidate, given reports of effects lasting days or longer (possibly tipping into psychosis).
• Wikipedia and field reports indicate proper cooking seems to destroy the hallucinogen; undercooking leads to problems.
• Comparisons to many foods that are toxic raw but safe cooked (spinach, cassava, some boletes) and to mushrooms that are both delicacies and poisonous if mishandled.

Underground and research culture

• Enthusiasts discuss how similar species (e.g., other boletes and grass species) were popularized by amateur chemists and growers after initial reports.
• Practical obstacles: this species is ectomycorrhizal with specific trees and its active compound may not survive drying, limiting wider access.
• Side discussion of “SWIM” slang, bringing artists/poets on trips, and references to psychedelic media and researchers.

Evolutionary role of toxins and psychedelics

• Large subthread asks why some mushrooms are deadly, some mildly toxic, some hallucinogenic, and many edible.
• Explanations: fruiting bodies are just spore organs; some benefit from being eaten, others evolved insect neurotoxins that incidentally affect humans; toxins are metabolically costly and only maintained when advantageous.
• Broader debate on evolution, with pushback against treating evolution as “intelligent” or purpose-driven, and warnings that such language misleads people about how selection actually works.