Liam Engel - Psychoactive Plants & Fungi

Name: Liam Engel - Psychoactive Plants & Fungi
Start: 2026-03-10T18:30:00+11:00
End: 2026-03-10T18:30:00+11:00
Location: Upstairs at Gleebooks

About

Psychoactive Plants & Fungi: A cultural guide to 42 plants and fungi that shift the mind

6pm for 6.30pm Tuesday 10th March

Launched by Marnie O'Mara

What do coffee, cacao, wattles, nutmeg, tobacco and psilocybin have in common? They are all part of a long, global story of humans turning to plants and fungi to alter mood, sharpen focus, deepen ritual and make meaning of the world around them.

This conversation with Dr Liam Engel explores the cultural ecology of psychoactive plants and fungi through the lens of Psychoactive Plants and Fungi, a richly illustrated cultural companion for the curious reader. From biochemistry to myth, medicine and meaning – discover the species that shaped rituals, rewired minds and transformed societies.

From backyard acacias to kitchen staples and ceremonial species, this discussion places contemporary conversations around psychadelics, wellbeing and ritual within a much longer botanical and cultural history, inviting audiences to see familiar plants – and their surrounding – with new curiosity.

Dr Liam Engel is an ethnobotanist, natural products chemist and science communicator specialising in psychoactive plants. Based in Sydney, Liam's work spans chemistry, pharmacology, botany and social science, and is underpinned by advocacy for drug law reform. Liam conducts research at the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, and is co-founder of The Mescaline Garden educational nursery.

Marnie O’Mara is a drama practitioner with over 30 years’ experience in the creative arts as a director, producer, and high school drama teacher. She is a co-founder of several theatre companies, including CHALKDUST Theatre, NTT Productions and Boxboards Theatre. Off the stage and in her Blue Mountains garden, Marnie lives an almost entirely self-sufficient life and is a locally renowned cheesemaker and sourdough baker. Coincidentally, Marnie is also Dr Liam Engel’s mother.