Chasing a Phantom by Total Synthesis: The Butylcycloheptylprodigiosin Case

The dispute as to whether “butylcycloheptylprodigiosin” is a natural product or solely a misassigned structure lasted for more than a decade. This open question has now been answered by the first total synthesis of this tripyrrole alkaloid (see picture), which makes explicit use of the peculiarities of its highly strained ortho‐anellated nine‐membered ring.