In Papua New Guinea, south-west China and the northern Philippines, people have long reported seeing dozens or even hundreds of miniature figures after eating certain wild mushrooms. Earlier writers put it down to cultural belief. A University of Utah team used DNA sequencing on 53 specimens and linked the visions to one species, Lanmaoa asiatica, which turns up in all three regions. It contains no known psychoactive compound, not even psilocybin, so it may hold an unknown hallucinogen.

The figures in these visions look solid and seem to obey physics, which helps explain why folklore about little people can feel so real to those who experience it. For freethinkers it is a neat case of an experience that looks supernatural getting a biological explanation.

Source: ScienceDaily (University of Utah) (2026-10-25)

Summarised by the FTI newsdesk.