The earth probably hides hundreds of species of psychedelic mushrooms that contain the hallucinogenic substance psilocybin. However, systematic field studies of the genre Psilocybe “completely missing” for many regions of the world.
Now, a new paper describes two species of psychedelic mushrooms from South Africa that are completely new to science. This raises the total number of mushrooms Psilocybe reported on the continent from only four to six. One of the species, called Psilocybe maluti, is the first scientifically documented psychedelic mushroom with traditional and spiritual uses in Africa.
P. maluti was originally photographed in 2021 growing on cow dung in the Free State province of South Africa. The golden caramel cap of the fruiting body was collected by mycologist Daniella Mulder, who sent the unusual-looking specimens and some images of them to mycologist Breyten van der Merwe at Stellenbosch University in South Africa for further morphological and genetic analysis.
After it was established that it was a new species, another self-taught mycologist named Cullen Clark, along with scientists from Stellenbosch, set out to find other similar fungi. They found identical specimens in the Kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked nation entirely surrounded by South Africa.
The team contacted Mamosebetsi Sethathi, a traditional healer of the most prominent ethnic group in the kingdom; the Basotho people. Sethathi was kind enough to share their traditional uses for P. maluti fruit.
The first documented psychedelic mushroom with traditional and spiritual uses in Africa
According to anecdotes, local Basotho healers, called lingaka or ngaka, consume the cone-tipped mushrooms as part of spiritual tradition. Basotho shamans, called linohe, use mushrooms to “foresee the future”.
Other healers, known as ngaka-chitja, occasionally use mushrooms in conjunction with their “vast knowledge of herbs and remedies” to treat others. Along with the psychoactive plant Boophone disticha, the psychedelic mushrooms are steeped in a potent tea known as koae-ea-lekhoaba, which is sometimes used in traditional medicine or as a hunting poison.
When a patient drinks the infusion, they enter a “trance state” and are placed in front of a reflective surface so they can relay what they see to the healer. The healer then interprets the results and advises the patient on the best course of action.
“This appears to be the only recorded first-hand report of traditional use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Africa and the first mention of hallucinogenic mushroom use in sub-Saharan Africa,” writes the Stellenbosch University-led team.
Clues to the diversity of fungi in South Africa
The other newly described species found in Africa was named P. angel. Found in 2023 by amateur mycologist Talan Moult in a coastal province in South Africa, the fruiting bodies of this new species were growing on grass enriched with cow dung towards the end of the rainy season, he writes ScienceAlert.
The gills are light in color and the cap is dark compared to the closest genetic relative of the species in Asia, called P. keralensis. In contrast to the P. malutiit was discovered growing only in this province.
The Stellenbosch researchers hope that their current work will encourage further research into the diversity of fungi in South Africa.
The study was published in Mycologia.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
