The Plants, Fungi & Natural Compounds category explores the remarkable diversity of psychoactive fungi, plants, cacti, and naturally occurring compounds studied throughout history and modern science. From mushroom biology and fungal ecology to ethnobotany, biodiversity, botanical evolution, and natural product chemistry, these articles examine how nature produces complex molecules that continue to inspire scientific research across biology, chemistry, ecology, and pharmacology.
Millions of Years of Evolution Shaping Nature’s Chemical Diversity The extraordinary diversity of psychoactive plants and fungi is the result of millions of years of biological evolution, environmental adaptation, and…
Connecting Traditional Knowledge With Modern Botanical Science Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationship between people and plants across cultures, environments, and history. It examines how societies have observed,…
Exploring the Extraordinary Diversity of Nature’s Botanical Kingdom The plant kingdom contains an extraordinary diversity of species that have evolved over hundreds of millions of years, developing unique biological characteristics…
Understanding One of the World’s Most Recognizable Mushroom Genera The genus Amanita represents one of the most recognizable and scientifically important groups of fungi in the natural world. Comprising more…
A Botanical Species That Continues to Fascinate Scientific Research Among the thousands of plant species studied by botanists and natural product scientists, Salvia divinorum occupies a distinctive position because of…
Understanding One of Central Africa’s Most Remarkable Botanical Species Among the many plants investigated within ethnobotany and natural product science, Tabernanthe iboga occupies a distinctive position because of its unique…
Understanding the Plants Behind One of the World’s Most Studied Botanical Traditions Among the many botanical subjects explored in ethnobotany, few have attracted as much scientific attention as the plants…
Understanding the Botanical Science of Mescaline Producing Cacti Among the world’s most remarkable botanical species are a small number of cacti that naturally synthesize mescaline, a naturally occurring phenethylamine that…
The Ecological Role of Psychedelic Mushrooms in Nature Psychedelic mushrooms are more than remarkable organisms studied for their chemistry and taxonomy. They are essential components of complex ecosystems that have…