🌸 The psychedelic secret of morning glory… revealed by a student 🔬✨
For almost a century, scientists suspected that the hallucinogenic effects of some morning glories (Ipomoea tricolor) did not come solely from the plant, but from a hidden fungus that lived in symbiosis with it. However, this mysterious organism had never been found… until now.
The discovery was made by Corinne Hazel, an environmental microbiology student at West Virginia University. While analyzing seeds from the “Heavenly Blue” variety, she discovered a microscopic fungus hidden in the seed coat: Periglandula clandestina.
Genetic analyses confirmed that this fungus produces ergot alkaloids, the same chemical family used by Albert Hofmann in the 1930s to first synthesize LSD. In fact, Hofmann suspected that morning glory hid a fungal companion similar to that of rye (Claviceps purpurea), but he could never prove it. Hazel, almost a century later, confirmed it.
This discovery explains not only the visionary effects for which the plant was used in Mesoamerican rituals but also the evolutionary symbiosis between fungi and plants: the alkaloids act as a natural defense against herbivores, while today science investigates them as possible treatments for migraines, dementia, and other neurological disorders.
More than solving a mystery, this finding opens new possibilities in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology.
Source: Mycology (April 22, 2025)
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