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R. Gordon Wasson (born 22 September 1898, died 23 December 1986) was an author, amateur researcher and banker. In the course of his self-funded research, he made significant contributions to the field of ethnobotany.Wasson's studies in "ethnomycology" begun on his honeymoon trip to the
Catskill Mountains, when his wife, Valentina Pavlovna Guercken, chanced upon some edible wild mushrooms. The marked difference in cultural attitudes towards the fungus kingdom in Russia compared to the United States fascinated the pair, and led to the writing of the book Mushrooms, Russia and History 1957. In the course of their investigations, they mounted expeditions to Mexico to study the religious use of mushrooms by the native inhabitants, and became the first westerners to participate in a Mazatec sacred mushroomMagic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms psychedelic mushrooms and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. This last term is misleading. Though hallucinations can occur when under the influence of magic mushrooms (as with many other drugs, su ritualA ritual is a formalised, predetermined set of symbolic actions generally performed in a particular environment at a regular, recurring interval. The set of actions that comprise a ritual often include, but are not limited to, such things as recitation, s. In 1957, their experiences were published in a Life magazine article (Seeking the Magic Mushroom), bringing knowledge of the existence of psychoactive mushrooms to a wide audience for the first time. Through his collaboration with Roger Heim , the mushrooms were subjected to scientific study, and eventually the chemical structureChemical structure is the arrangement of atoms within a molecule, usually linked by covalent bonds. Chemical structure can range from the very simple, such as diatomic oxygen or nitrogen molecules, to the very complex, such as protein or DNA molecules. of the active compounds, psilocybinPsilocybin 4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-di methyl tryptamine is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family. It is present in many species of fungi, notably Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe semilanceata (Liberty Caps). Psilocybin-containing mushrooms are commo and psilocinPsilocin Chemical name4-hydroxy N,N dimethyl-tryptamine or 3-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-1''H indol-4-ol Chemical formulaCHNO Molecular mass204. 27 g/mol Melting point173 176 °C CAS number520-53-6 SMILESOC1 CC CC2 C1C(CCN(C)C) CN2 Psilocin is a mushroom alka were determined by Albert Hoffman, using matrial grown by Heim from collections made on expedition with Wasson. Two species of mushroom, Psilocybe wassonii Heim and Psilocybe wassonorum Guzman were named in honor of R. Gordon Wasson. Also in collaboration with Albert Hoffman, R. G. Wasson was the first westerner to make a botanical collection of the Mazatec hallucinogen Salvia divinorum, leading to its description as a new species, and bringing it into cultivation outside of Mexico.
Experiences with the magic mushrooms apparently had a profound effect on Wasson, and fungi remained a persistent theme in his further works. His next major contribution was a study into the ancient Vedic intoxicant Soma, which he proposed was based on the psychoactive Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) mushroom. This was published in 1967 under the title Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. His attention then turned to the Eleusinian Mysteries, the initiation ceremony of the ancient Greek cult of Demeter and Persephone. In The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries ( 1978), co-authored with Albert Hoffman and Carl A. P. Ruck , it was proposed that the special drink " kykeon", a part of the ceremony, contained psychoactive ergoline alkaloids from the fungus Ergot (Claviceps spp.).
