http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/ant-carnivorous-plant-borneo/

Encyclopedia Odditoria
Hallucinatory Mist

Example 1 – Roller Coaster Vine (full entry in Flora, vol. 5, page 578-579)

The Roller Coaster Vine was the third species ever confirmed to produce and emit Hallucinatory Mist. Its particular brand of mist is relatively powerful, in the 4^th tier on the seven-tier Crain Scale of naturally-occurring hallucinogens.

Discovery

Originally discovered on an island of the South Pacific by Scottish cartographer Pametra Islay, the vine was eventually catalogued and named after her nearly a decade later. Samples, dead and alive, were first brought to labs in London sometime around 1850. The mist was confirmed as a type of hallucinogen in 1853.

Mist properties

Roller Coaster Vine mist is potent in small doses. It evolved to fend off tree-bound insects that would eat the vine. Like all hallucinogens, it affects the part of an insect’s brain that processes images. The mist is very specialized and causes a specific hallucination. Any insect that’s hit by the spray will see a Godzilla Ant, the 4-inch long carnivorous ant that is the scourge of the tree-bound inset population on half a dozen South Pacific islands. One look at the fake ant and any hungry insect escapes with all due haste.

Because of its specialization, the mist is mostly ineffectual on other species of the rainforest canopy. It can cause some mental distress, but it’s rarely enough to produce any hallucinations, especially in larger creatures. Reptiles are, by all accounts, entirely immune.

Practical applications

There are little real-world uses for the Roller Coaster Vine’s hallucinatory mist. Its admirable potency is negated by the miniscule amounts that are emitted with each discharge – an insect weighing just a few grams doesn’t need a big dose to reach saturation. The insect-specific specialization of the mist further limits its adaptation to any human use. Costs to extract and produce a useable amount would be high, and secondary modifications would be required to develop any worthwhile use.

The Roller Coaster vine is a remarkable plant, worthy of study and awe. But its mist isn’t worth much outside of its evolutionary intention.