A distinct type of hallucinogenic fungus has been found to be growing in the royal gardens of the Buckingham Palace, reported rt.com.
Hallucinogenic mushrooms were discovered on the grounds of Buckingham Palace in London home to the royal family of Britain.
Alan Titchmarsh, a renowned celebrity gardener, spotted fly agaric which was coloured red and white, stated the website for NBC News. He made the discovery whilst filming a program for UK broadcaster ITV.
According to the Daily Mail the species, whose botanical name is Amanita muscaria, is thought to have been first named for its use in parts of Europe as an insecticide, stated Britain’s Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, southwest London.
“Fly agaric is well known to contain psychoactive alkaloids, and has a long history of use in Asia and parts of northern Europe for religious and recreational purposes,” it adds on its website.
The presence of the fungus in the gardens of Buckingham Palace was confirmed by a spokesman for the palace.
“There are several hundred fungi species in the palace garden, including a small number of naturally occurring fly agaric mushrooms,” he said.
He further added that the fungi are beneficial for the trees and help them take in nutrients and that they provide food for flies and a breeding site for beetles, but are considered harmful to humans.
While speaking to the British publication The Sun, Titchmarsh described the discovery as “a surprise,” stating that “I won’t be eating any.”
Officials of the palace have made it clear that the fungi from the garden are not used in the palace kitchens by the staff members.
The type of fungi discovered in the gardens of the Buckingham Palace is deemed as a very dangerous choice for recreational purposes due to its depressant qualities, stated rt.com.
Donald Pfister, a biologist at Harvard University, reported that it was ‘not particularly’ unusual to find these mushrooms in an English Garden, stated livescience.com. He reasoned that such fungi usually grow near evergreen trees and may also grow under deciduous trees, such as birch, stated the biologist.
According to the entertainment website eonline.com, Titschmarsh, a Royal Botanical Gardens-educated expert who is set to host Britain’s Best Garden next year, has spent almost a year exploring the Palace garden.
The website also stated the horticulturist in his special episode due to be aired on Christmas will explore the ecology and history of the gardens of the Buckingham Palace including how young Queen Elizabeth used to climb up the trees and play with her sister Princess Margaret on these grounds.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.
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