''Boletus manicus'' is a species of

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a Family (biology), family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenium, hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of Lamella (mycology), gills as are found ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

s. Found in the Wahgi valley

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, it was first described by French mycologist

Roger Heim Roger Heim (February 12, 1900 – September 17, 1979) was a French botanist specialising in mycology and tropical phytopathology. He was known for his studies describing the anatomy of the mushroom hymenium, the systematics and phylogeny of highe ...

in 1963. Heim singled out this mushroom largely because of its similar appearance to '' Rubroboletus satanas''. In the

Wahgi language Wahgi is a Trans–New Guinea language of the Chimbu–Wahgi branch spoken by approximately 100,000 people in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Like other Chimbu languages, Wahgi has some unusual lateral consonants. Phonology Consonants ...

it is called ''gegwantsyi ngimbl''. The word ''ngimbl'' in the south Wahgi dialect means pain, which describes the intense bitterness of the mushroom. It has been reported that ''B. manicus'' may be a

hallucinogenic mushroom Hallucinogenic mushrooms are mushrooms that have hallucinogenic effects in humans. Such mushrooms include: * Psilocybin mushrooms (also known as "magic mushrooms" or "psychedelic mushrooms") (e.g., ''Psilocybe'' mushrooms) * Psychoactive ''Amanita ...

. However, this topic is controversial, and available findings are mixed. ''B. manicus'' is known to contain trace amounts of three unidentified indolic compounds. These were detected by

Albert Hofmann Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann's team also isolated, named and synthesi ...

, but the quantities were too low to allow for chemical analysis and identification. The indolic compounds would need to be extremely potent, on par with

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

, to account for the claimed hallucinogenic effects of ''B. manicus''. 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 by

Jonathan Ott Jonathan Ott (born 1949 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist and botanical researcher in the area of entheogens and their cultural and historical uses, and helped coin the term "' ...

. Other

bolete A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique cap. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. A similar pore surface i ...

s besides ''B. manicus'' have also been reported to be hallucinogenic mushrooms, such as boletes in the

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

References

manicus Fungi of New Guinea Fungi described in 1963 Fungus species {{Boletales-stub

See also

References