Lanmaoa asiatica
| Lanmaoa asiatica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Boletales |
| Family: | Boletaceae |
| Genus: | Lanmaoa |
| Species: | L. asiatica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lanmaoa asiatica G.Wu & Zhu L.Yang (2015)
| |
Lanmaoa asiatica is a species of bolete mushroom in the family Boletaceae. It is reddish in color[1] and it is an ectomycorrhizal symbiote of the Yunnan Pine, Pinus yunnanensis. It is notable for its lilliputian hallucinations. It is considered a choice wild edible[1] mushroom in Yunnan (southwestern China) and[2] northern Cordillera (Philippines), where it is known as Jiànshǒuqīng (Chinese: 见手青; lit. 'see-hand-blue', as the flesh turns blue when exposed to air)[a] and Sedesdem respectively.[3]
Both Chinese and Filipino locals believe that the mushroom is less hallucinogenic when cooked thoroughly.[3] Yunnanese restaurants have developed a complete system of cooking and serving standards (which includes a ban on consuming alcoholic 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 sends short messages during mushroom season to warn about the potential for toxicity.[4] Nevertheless, poisoning outbreaks remain common and have become a specialty of local hospitals.[5]
In 2023, Lanmaoa asiatica received international media attention after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet 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). [6]
Chemical and genomic analyses have shown that the Lanmaoa asiatica does not contain any known psychoactive compounds such as psilocybin or muscimol. It is likely that there is a yet-unknown hallucinogenic compound waiting to be discovered in this species.[3][7] Chemical analysis of Lanmaoa 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]
User experience reports consistent Lilliputian hallucinations across several countries and cultures, the reasoning is currently unknown. [3]
See also
Note
- ^ 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 genus Lanmaoa.
References
- ^ a b "Home - Lanmaoa asiatica v1.0". mycocosm.jgi.doe.gov.
- ^ Wong, Maggie (July 15, 2023). "Mushroom diplomacy: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sets off culinary craze in China". CNN.
- ^ a b c d "Experts Explore New Mushroom Which Causes Fairytale-Like Hallucinations | Natural History Museum of Utah". nhmu.utah.edu. 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
- ^ "见手青有毒也抢着吃！掌握3个技巧，鲜吃安全不中毒" [Rushing to eat Jianshouqing even if it's poisonous? Three tips to keep you safe]. www.163.com. 20 November 2025.
- ^ Li, Haijiao; Zhang, Hongshun; Zhang, Yizhe; Zhou, Jing; Yin, Yu; He, Qian; Jiang, Shaofeng; Ma, Peibin; Zhang, Yutao; Yuan, Yuan; Lang, Nan; Cheng, Bowen; Wang, Mei; Sun, Chengye (2022-01-21). "Mushroom Poisoning Outbreaks — China, 2021". China CDC Weekly. 4 (3). doi:10.46234/ccdcw2022.010. ISSN 2096-7071. PMC 8796718. PMID 35586461. Archived from the original on 2025-05-12.
- ^ Sullivan, Helen (2023-08-16). "Janet Yellen inadvertently ate hallucinogenic mushrooms in China – and started a trend". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ Dai R, Duan Z, Han B, Peng Y, Zhu L, Shen Y, Meng Q. Untargeted Metabolomic Analysis Using UPLC-MS/MS Reveals Metabolic Changes Associated With Lanmaoa asiatica Poisoning. Food Sci Nutr. 2025 Jul 8;13(7):e70583. doi:10.1002/fsn3.70583 PMID 40635726
- ^ Zhang X, Liu L, Luo J, Peng X. Anti-aging potency correlates with metabolites from in vitro fermentation of edible fungal polysaccharides using human fecal intestinal microflora. Food Funct. 2022 Nov 14;13(22):11592-11603. doi:10.1039/d2fo01951e PMID 36268605
- ^ Yang N, Zhang S, Zhou P, Zhang W, Luo X, Cao J, Sun D. Analysis of Volatile Flavor Substances in the Enzymatic Hydrolysate of Lanmaoa asiatica Mushroom and Its Maillard Reaction Products Based on E-Nose and GC-IMS. Foods. 2022 Dec 15;11(24):4056. doi:10.3390/foods11244056
{{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link) PMID 36553801 - ^ Wang Y, Lüli Y, Li X, Yang ZL, Luo H. Pulvinic Acid Derivative Pigments in Lanmaoa asiatica and L. macrocarpa. Chem Biodivers. 2024 May;21(5):e202301996. doi:10.1002/cbdv.202301996 PMID 38509847
- ^ Zhang B, Yang L, Ma QY, Xie QY, Guo JC, Dai HF, Chen JW, Zhao YX. Chemical constituents from the fruiting bodies of Lanmaoa asiatica and their anti-inflammatory activity. Fitoterapia. 2025 Jun;183:106531. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2025.106531 PMID 40204044
External links