An article in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms describes a strange and wonderful practice in Hawaii: women gather together to search for a particular mushroom. When they find it, they sniff it. The scent of this mushroom causes sexual arousal, often to the point of orgasm.
The article describes a trial where 20 men and 16 women were asked to smell the mushroom. All of the men found the smell disgusting. All the women showed signs of arousal, and six experienced orgasm from the smell. The study noted that the women who did climax were the first women to smell it, while those who smelled it later (when it was older and weaker) noticed fewer effects.
One woman said she wanted to “gobble it up.”
Could it Be Real?
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Is this the Holy Grail of aphrodisiacs? A scent so potent that a few whiffs can send a woman over the cliff? Something that could be put in a time-released capsule for women with arousal disorders? The ultimate secret ingredient for the ultimate chocolate aphrodisiac?
A few people I talked with about this mushroom immediately decided that it was a hoax. Impossible, they say.
One person asked if the male and female chemistry are so vastly different that any chemical could cause repulsion in one gender and body-shaking ecstasy in the other? And how would it affect gay men or lesbian women?
I have corresponded with one of the authors of the paper; he is a respected mushroomologist (or mycologist if you want to be scientifically correct). He put his reputation on the line by publishing the article, and he has little to gain if it is a hoax.
Aphrodisiology has written about the truffle, which is is another mushroom that produces steroid pheromones. And some species of stinkhorn are eaten as aphrodisiacs in China.
Reading a report like this makes the old government plan to develop an Aphrodisiac Weapon a bit less loony.
Notes on Stinkhorns
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Stinkhorns usually do stink. They have evolved to spread their spores by attracting flies - which is easy when you smell fetid like rotting flesh. But apparently this type of Dictyphora tries to smell bad, nasty and naughty instead of plain foul. And it randomly mutated to produce some type of pheromone or neurotransmitter or drug.
The mushroom in question is described as a new species in the genus Dictyphora or Phallus, or possibly as a new variety of a known species, Dictyphora indusiata.
It’s no coincidence that the spelling for the genus Phallus looks like the word phallus, which is Latin for dick. Stinkhorns are definitely phallic symbols - and one variety may be much more than a symbol, as it appears to rock her world in a way that mere mortals cannot.
Related Links:
Brief discussion of Dictyphora as a food in China. Unfortunately, most of the volatile scent would be lost when drying the fungal fruiting body.
*]Nice Photo of Dictyphora indusiata - one shows the orange ‘veil’ nicely.
References the article: Holliday, J.C. and N. Soule, “Spontaneous Female Orgasms Triggered by Smell of a Newly Found Tropical Dictyphora Species.” International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, 2001, vol. 3, pp 162-167.
“The grasshoppers, like other insects are attracted to the smelly spore mass lifted into the air when this stinkhorn sporocarp opens at maturity. In contrast to the tip, the fresh skirt of this fugus has a fragrant smell. In ancient China, the skirt was eaten exclusively by Emperors and commoners who ate it faced execution, if caught.”
ALSO:
An EU patent application for an anti-AIDS drug uses Indusiata as one of its ingredients.
" It is also known that a Dictyophora indusiata-derived ingredient is absorbed in a human body through the mucous membrane to stimulate and activate the mucosal immunity, and that some beneficial effects can thus be expected such as an anti-tumor effect and an effect beneficial for treatment and remedy of infectious diseases caused by virus like AIDS, bacteria or the like (see, for example
Dictyophora (Phallus) indusiata var lutea"
Y’all might want to hold off on the plane reservations until you have found a very connected native guide. The very few native Hawaiian women who know where to find this mushroom, and more importantly when to find it, are very secretive.
Right now the biggest question is whether the Hawaiian variety is seperate species from the other Phallus Indusiata that grow in tropical climates around the world. There are at this point no reputable reports of orgasmic activity in any other locations.
I do intend to cultivate Indusiata and other stinkhorns in the Phallus genus. I have a trader in China contacting the producers commerciallly available edible stinkhorn to find out if it is cultivated or wildcrafted and further the availabity of spawn or spore. I am also searching for two out of print texts that disscuss the cultivation of Phallus stinkhorns, hopefully with specific growing parameters. And other efforts.
I will not abandon the search for the Orgasmic Grail, especially since it rides atop a fascinating being that for me is the object of passion and wonder and desire. The mushroom.
wow. i have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that i have found that exact same mushroom here in thailand. it was so odd, in fact, that i found the need to take photos because i thought it looked amazing. so i took a few.
Soooo, like, are you going to like let us see them?
Progess Report:
As far as I know, the chinese commercial stinkhorns are as far as I can tell the Industiata species, so it is clearly edible. I am still waiting to receive samples.
These commercial examples are wildcrafted. I can not find any current cultivation, commercial or enthusiast, of any of the stinkhorn genus. Apperantly it has been done in the past but, I am still unable to locate the out of print publication that discusses growing paeameters.
Whether the hawaiian variety is a separate species is still unresolved.
Spawn and spore are still a distant dream.
Umami? Very good question. I will make a point of sharing my samples with fanatical foodie friends who have much more discerning taste than me.
hey, i will have to do an extensive search to find the photos as they are over one year old and were originally on another computer i had at another location before moving. i will be looking though…
The information is very interesting. I like the post. Thank you, this advice will come in handy. It made me understand something, and it is that I never knew before.
Wow, any updates?
I know this mushroom is becoming a topic of interest lately with the scientific community.
I have a few thoughts.
First, if the ones in Thailand or China were the same, don’t you think the people would have made note of the aphrodisiac affects from them??
Also, what if this thing gets out into the public, or even places like androitics single out and sell the molecule(s) responsible for the orgasmic affect? It seems to me that this would sort of cause an issue. Don’t get me wrong, I want to get my hands on it as much as the next guy, but I can totally see men wearing the scent as they walk in public and constantly around them women are either getting super aroused or orgasming in their pants. It seems to me it would cause a major distraction, like for students or women on the job… How will women be able to focus and get things done?
Or for example, what if ‘Jane’ is forced to constantly have orgasms all day to the point of exhaustion because her co-worker ‘billy’ decided to wear his ‘phallus pheromone’ everyday to work..?
I mean, yes in the bedroom it would be the holy grail, but there will be people who abuse it… And I can totally see disaster on the way..
I think that even if you single out the molecule responsible for it, the side-effect can be that you will get a lot of angry guys at you. It is “too early to tell”, similar with the hedione. Yes, it can cause a lot of arousal, but I think it comes to full effect in combination with other products that also stimulate that arousal. I think its best to single out the molecule (or the molecules) that cause this behavior, then find a way to get rid of the “stench” and then synthesize it. That way you know if its a valuable source or not. It could be a real bug attactractant, which is not the effect you want as a man (smell like rotten food).
Think of it as the Durian. Most people just don’t like it because of its smell of rotten fruit, however the fruit is making people estatic when eaten. I think its the same thing here: It might be the worst smell ever, and girls actually repel you even though it smells orgasmic.
I have read some article about magic mushroom being used as a aphrodisiac. It triggers your sexual drive as the skin becomes more sensitive to different sensations, it’s more vulnerable to pleasurable sensations. Although magic mushrooms themselves don’t increase libido, they make one more susceptible to sex by making skin contact more pleasurable.
