Getty ImagesIf you're even shown around Buckingham Palace, be prepared for a magical mystery tour.
Horticulturist Alan Titschmarsh unearthed a hallucinogenic fungi—aka magic mushrooms!—during a jaunt through the grounds of Queen Elizabeth II's home that was captured for the ITV special The Queen's Garden, set to air on Christmas Day.
According to London's Telegraph, Titschmarsh is seen asking ecology expert Professor Mick Crawley whether the Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric, is edible.
"That depends what you mean," Crawley replies. "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.
"I wont' be eating any of that," Titschmarch quips. "I think I'll forgo that and stick to normal mushrooms."
Speaking of which...what are, ahem, abnormal mushrooms doing in the queen's garden?!
Well, Titschmarch also explains on his show that mushroom growth can be a good thing—and that there's no evidence the illegal kind, which contain the drug psilocybin, are growing anywhere on the property. (Which is good, because the monarch's got wee little great-grandchildren running about!)
Moreover, a palace spokesman told The Sun: "For the avoidance of doubt, fungi from the garden are not used in the Palace kitchens."
Titschmarsh, a Royal Botanical Gardens-educated expert who is set to host Britain's Best Garden next year, reportedly spent a year exploring the Palace garden and his Christmas special will explore the ecology and history of the land, including how little Elizabeth used to climb trees and play with sister Princess Margaret on the grounds.
Sounds like a real trip.