Ergot

Ergot One of the most fascinating of the natural hallucinogens comes from a fungus called ergot, which grows on the grains of grasses, especially rye (Secale), but occasionally on barley (Hordeum), wheat (Triticium), and several wild grasses. An infected grain produces a hard, black, spur-like structure called a sclerotium. In fact, the name ergot comes from the French word argot, which means spur. Ergot has been known and used for many centuries, and it was even described in an Assyrian tablet as the "noxious pustule in the ear of grain." In ancient times ergot was also known as "mad grain" and "drunken rye." Then later in European history, there were periodic plagues, which had many symptoms, depending on the dosage of ergot. The possible effects were (mild to severe): (1) burning and convulsions, (2) hallucinations with imaginary sounds, (3) gangrene and loss of limbs, (4) permanent insanity, and, occasionally, (5) death. The initial burning sensation led to the Latin name ignis sacer, which means holy fire. This human malady was so horrible that in 1093 a religious order was founded in southern France to help those afflicted; St. Anthony was the patron saint, so the malady, now called ergotism, was then named ergot, lsd, ergotism, leary, drug, called, albert, symptoms, several, rye, out, name, grain, died, comes, blood, years, vessels, under, things, substance, st, sclerotium, research, psychoactive, outbreak, occurred, occasionally, now, new, middle, means, malady, limbs, later, known