The Mushroom That Makes You See Tiny People Is Very Real, and We Have Questions

Of all the strange things we expected to stumble across at Mini World Atlas, a mushroom that reportedly fills the real world with miniature people was not on the list.

And yet, here we are.

A recent video from creator Brooklyn Jones introduced us to Lanmaoa asiatica, an edible mushroom associated with an extraordinarily specific phenomenon: when the mushroom is eaten improperly cooked, people have reported seeing tiny humanlike figures moving through their surroundings.

Naturally, the words "tiny people" got our attention.

Watch the original Instagram Reel from Brooklyn Jones →

Meet Lanmaoa asiatica

Lanmaoa asiatica is a bolete found in parts of Asia and is particularly associated with Yunnan Province in southwestern China. Unlike the mushrooms we usually associate with hallucinations, it is actually prized as a culinary mushroom.

Locally, it is known as jian shou qing — a name referring to the mushroom's tendency to turn blue when handled or cut. It is sold by the basketful in Yunnan's famous wild-mushroom markets and eaten as food.

There is, however, one rather important catch.

It needs to be thoroughly cooked.

When eaten undercooked, L. asiatica has been associated with mushroom poisoning and an unusually consistent type of visual hallucination. People report seeing miniature, often colorful human figures appearing within their otherwise normal surroundings — the BBC collected accounts of diners who "saw them on their dishes when eating."

Yes. Miniature people. On the dinner plates.

You can probably see why the Mini World Atlas clan has now entered the chat.

They even have a name

These experiences are known as Lilliputian hallucinations, named after the tiny inhabitants of Lilliput in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

And these aren't necessarily vague shapes that someone interprets as people. Accounts describe detailed little figures appearing to exist within the person's actual environment — figures interacting with furniture and other objects around them.

Imagine looking across your kitchen and discovering an entire miniature population has apparently moved onto the table.

For people who spend their free time building tiny kitchens, tiny libraries, tiny bakeries, tiny greenhouses and entire 1:12 scale civilizations, the concept feels suspiciously familiar.

Here's where it gets even weirder

You might assume scientists simply found an unusual psychedelic chemical in the mushroom and called it a day.

They haven't.

Genomic research published in 2026 found that L. asiatica carries none of the genetic machinery for producing psilocybin or ibotenic acid — the compounds behind better-known psychoactive mushrooms. Researchers at the University of Utah, who confirmed the mushroom's identity in August 2026, are still working out exactly which compound is responsible for its effects.

That leaves a genuinely fascinating scientific question:

Why does this particular mushroom seem to produce such an oddly specific visual experience?

Hallucinations can take essentially endless forms. Yet reports surrounding this mushroom repeatedly return to miniature figures.

For anyone fascinated by miniatures, folklore, perception, or just the wonderfully strange corners of the natural world, that is an irresistible mystery.

Unfortunately, this is not a miniature tourism opportunity

Before anyone in the Mini World Atlas community starts planning an extremely questionable field trip to Yunnan: this phenomenon is the result of mushroom poisoning, not a recommended psychedelic experience.

Undercooked L. asiatica can cause serious symptoms requiring medical treatment. The fact that some of those symptoms happen to sound like someone accidentally opened a portal into a miniature village does not make experimenting with wild mushrooms safe.

Please admire the tiny mushroom people strictly from the safety of the internet.

The Mini World Atlas verdict

We spend a lot of time celebrating people who deliberately create miniature worlds.

Apparently, nature has decided there should also be a mushroom that temporarily convinces the human brain that one already exists.

We don't know exactly why Lanmaoa asiatica produces these extraordinary experiences. Scientists don't fully know either. And somehow that makes the story even better.

So thank you to Brooklyn Jones for bringing this wonderfully bizarre rabbit hole to our attention.

Or perhaps we should call it a mushroom hole.

Actually, no.

We'll stick with rabbit hole.

Would you want to hear more strange miniature-related stories like this on Mini World Atlas? And more importantly: if you suddenly discovered tiny people living in your house, what would be the FIRST miniature you would build for them? Tell us in the comments — and for more small stories from the big world, wander over to Miniatures in the News.