Exopheromone is a term coined by
Terence McKenna proposed in his book
Food of the Gods for the controversial idea of chemical signals between members of different species, as opposed to among
conspecifics. He suggested that certain chemicals produced in abundance in various
hallucinogenic plants and fungi, such as
dimethyltryptamine and
psilocybin may act as
pheromones produced by one species (the vegetal) waiting for absorption by various others (for example, early primates or
hominids). In this way a kind of ecological pheromonal system may be at work among species and
ecosystems that have coevolved closely for long stretches of time. The term is not scientifically accepted.