Until decriminalisation becomes more widespread, taking a magic mushroom trip is restricted to open-minded countries such as Jamaica: MycoMeditations (guests of which have contributed to Imperial College’s research) and Silo Wellness (which also hosts a ketamine retreat in Oregon and makes supplements in conjunction with Mr Bob Marley’s family) operate around the island. Another destination is the famously liberal Netherlands, despite magic mushrooms being illegal there since 2008. But “magic truffles” (the bit that grows underground) are legal: hence “truffle retreat” Synthesis, near Amsterdam, and Truffles Therapy, now relocated to Costa Rica where there’s an established tourism industry around the bark-based hallucinogen ayahuasca.

Magic mushrooms can conjure up images of New Age mysticism or gap-year full-moon parties. But microdosing (regularly taking 10 to 20 per cent of a normal dose) psilocybin is used by some for productivity. This is a practice that originated in Silicon Valley and is credited with boosting creativity. (Mr Steve Jobs once said his “basically unimaginative” rival Mr Bill Gates should’ve dropped acid: “He’d be a broader guy.”) Research has linked microdosing to improved “convergent” or outside-the-box thinking, although a recent study by Imperial College suggested any benefits could be placebo, and there’s no science on the long-term consequences. But proponents are convinced every little makes them better at their job, even better people: more open, connected to others.

In 1993, three record-breaking female Chinese runners were revealed to be taking cordyceps mushrooms and turtle blood by their coach – who was fired in 2000 after six other athletes failed drugs tests. Nevertheless, mushroom supplements are gathering pace, with year-on-year Amazon sales rising, from June 2019 to May 2021 sales went up 53 per cent: mostly powders (47 per cent) and capsules (46 per cent). Four Sigmatic offers plant-based protein powder enhanced with fungi, as does big-wave surfer Mr Laird Hamilton’s Laird Superfood line, while his Performance Mushrooms – containing cordyceps – are endorsed by the US Ski and Snowboard team. In traditional medicine, mushrooms are considered “adaptogens” that apparently help the body adapt to stress. As with many supplements, solid evidence of efficacy is seriously deficient.

Now foraging has gone mainstream, finds The Guardian, it’s hard to unearth a restaurant serving British cuisine without some wild (and so local and seasonal) food on the menu, while home cooks have picked up on what’s around them on daily walks. Picked by retailer Whole Foods as a trending ingredient for 2021, mushrooms are being added to unlikely snacks – chocolate and granola bars, crisps (chips) and puffs, veggie jerky – to supposedly support immunity. Mushrooms’ fleshy texture and umami taste meanwhile makes them an increasingly viable meat alternative. Vegetarian stalwart Quorn’s patent on “mycoprotein” has expired, opening the fungus-gates for competitors. And fungi, which will eat anything, are cost-effective compared to growing plant-protein sources such as pea and soy, which also have to be processed to the right consistency.

Mushroom tea has long been A Thing. Self-optimisation leader Mr Tim Ferriss is evangelical about mushroom coffee – specifically, with a variety called lion’s mane made by Four Sigmatic. Inspired by a needs-must coffee alternative from WWII, the Finnish company purveys an astonishing variety of “immunity-supporting” mushroom drinks with and without caffeine that, crucially, don’t taste of mushrooms, including latte, cocoa and non-alcoholic “shots”. Speaking of booze (sort of), non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip’s Spice 94 gift sets come in compostable mycelium packaging. Mushrooms are an ingredient in some (admittedly fairly niche) full-strength craft beers and “medicinal” brew brand Fungtn’s alcohol-free lion’s mane IPA, reishi citra and chaga lager.

Mushrooms have traditionally been a beauty as well as culinary staple in Asia; the West, where integrative medic Dr Andrew Weil’s Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience range for Origins has been going since 2005, is catching on. Launched last year, two of the products in Mr Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace “three-step facial routine” contain snow mushroom extract: “A powerhouse moisturising ingredient with molecules small enough to penetrate deep layers of the skin, leaving it thoroughly nourished, supple and hydrated”. (So that’s his secret.) Following the popularity of its Shroom Cola hand sanitiser in conjunction with Portland scent pioneer Maak Lab, streetwear brand Brain Dead has brought out a unisex fragrance and hand soap with the same “woodsy smell” and “soda pop hit”.

“Mushroomcore” (25.6m TikTok views) is a subcategory of “goblincore” (695.5m), which is “cottagecore” (8.2bn) but grubbier. Ms Stella McCartney, who themed her SS22 Paris womenswear show around mushrooms, has unveiled the first (women’s) garments in Mylo, a mycelium “unleather” that, unlike cows, can be grown in two weeks with minimal carbon footprint or cruelty and, unlike petroleum-based alternatives, is natural and biodegradable; McCartney has invested in Mylo along with Gucci parent company Kering, lululemon and adidas, which has plans afoot for a mushroom Stan Smith. And sustainable Canadian brand EDEN Power Corp has made a bucket hat – “mushroom cap”? – from amadou, a spongy material from the sexy-sounding “hoof” or “tinder” fungus. See also the products available on MR PORTER, below.

Mushrooms are in our rooms: on wallpapers and watercolours, in the form of custom hand-carved wooden objets d’art and multicoloured cashmere poofs (the latter by The Elder Statesman). No less an authority than interiors magazine Elle Deco has deemed mushrooms “the hottest trend in design”, declaring: “The ‘spore’, the merrier.” Popular in the 19th century, mushroom stools (not to be confused with toadstools) are apparently back in vogue, while mushroom lamps based on the Murano design from the 1970s are particularly lit, taking over the Instagram feeds of New York magazine contributors and trading hands for as much as $750. If you want to authentically feng shui, ahead-of-the-trend Brooklyn bio-designer Ms Danielle Trofe has for the past decade been sustainably making chandeliers and pendants out of mycelium.

In the future, we’ll live in mushrooms. In contrast to conventional buildings’ construction and operation, which make up 40 per cent of man-made carbon emissions, the 2014 MoMa installation “Hy-Fi” was a circular – in every sense – tower made of corn-stalk waste and living mushroom bricks grown in five days using no extra energy that were later composted. Nasa’s myco-architecture project is exploring growing dormant fungi around a lightweight framework to make astronaut accommodation on the moon and Mars. Here and now, UK biomanufacturer Biohm has developed mycelium insulation panels that outperform conventional materials, while Italy’s Mogu combines mycelium with upcycled textile residue and bio-based resin to produce sound-dampening, velvety wall and soft floor tiles.