Boletus manicus is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae of mushrooms. Found in the Wahgi valley Papua New Guinea, it was first described by French mycologist Roger Heim in 1963.[1] Heim singled out this mushroom largely because of its similar appearance to Rubroboletus satanas.[2] In the Wahgi language it is called gegwantsyi ngimbl. The word ngimbl in the south Wahgi dialect means pain, which describes the intense bitterness of the mushroom.
| Boletus manicus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Boletales |
| Family: | Boletaceae |
| Genus: | Boletus |
| Species: | B. manicus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Boletus manicus | |
Boletus manicus | |
|---|---|
 | Pores on hymenium |
 | Cap is convex |
 | Hymenium is adnate |
 | Stipe is bare |
 | Ecology is mycorrhizal |
 | Edibility is psychoactive |
It has been reported that B. manicus may be a hallucinogenic mushroom.[3][4] However, this topic is controversial, and available findings are mixed.[4] B. manicus is known to contain trace amounts of three unidentified indolic compounds.[3][4] These were detected by Albert Hofmann, but the quantities were too low to allow for chemical analysis and identification.[3][5] The indolic compounds would need to be extremely potent, on par with LSD, to account for the claimed hallucinogenic effects of B. manicus.[3][4][5] 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.[3][4] Other boletes besides B. manicus have also been reported to be hallucinogenic mushrooms, such as boletes in the Yunnan province in China.[6][5][7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Heim R. (1963). "Diagnoses latines des especes de champignons ou, nonda associes a la folie du komugl tai et du ndaadl". Revue de Mycologie (in French). 28 (3–4): 277–83.
- ^ Heim, Roger (1972). "Mushroom madness in the kuma". Human Biology in Oceania. 1 (3): 170–178.
- ^ a b c d e Thomas B. (2003). "Boletus manicus Heim". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 35 (3): 393–4. doi:10.1080/02791072.2003.10400024. PMID 14621139. S2CID 31327216.
- ^ a b c d e Thomas B (2000). "Psychoactive card XIII: Boletus manicus". Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds. 4: 167–174. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022.
- ^ a b c Arora, David (2008). "Notes on Economic Mushrooms. Xiao Ren Ren: The "Little People" of Yunnan" (PDF). Economic Botany. 62 (3). New York Botanical Garden Press: 540–544. ISSN 0013-0001. JSTOR 40390492. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ Guzmán G (2015). "New Studies on Hallucinogenic Mushrooms: History, Diversity, and Applications in Psychiatry". Int J Med Mushrooms. 17 (11): 1019–1029. doi:10.1615/intjmedmushrooms.v17.i11.10. PMID 26853956.
- ^ Stijve T (1997). "Hallucinogenic bolets in China?". Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds. 7: 33.
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