Boletus manicus
Species of fungus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 | 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]
