There are "hallucinogenic" mushrooms growing in Britain’s Queen Elizabeth’s garden.
Television presenter and garden aficionado Alan Titchmarsh made a trippy discovery while filming the ITV show ‘The Queen’s Garden’ on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
Alongside ecology expert Professor Mick Crawley, Alan stumbled across the red and white spotted fungi – known as Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric – which can cause vivid hallucinations.
Upon their discovery, Alan asked if it was safe to eat the mushrooms, to which Professor Crawley replied: "That depends what you mean. It’s eaten in some cultures for its hallucinogenic affects.
"But it also makes people who eat it very sick.
"The old-fashioned thing to do was to feed it to the village idiot, then drink his urine because you get all of the high without any of the sickness."
The 65-year-old presenter than quipped: "I think I’ll forgo that and stick to normal mushrooms.
"Not something to try at home."
However a spokesman for the royals was quick to reassure the public that the mushrooms are not used for culinary purposes.
They told The Sun newspaper: "For the avoidance of doubt, fungi from the garden are not used in the Palace kitchens."
Hallucinogenic mushrooms growing in Queen Elizabeth’s garden
