Harmal Peganum

Peganum harmala (species), “Esfand”, “Wild Rue”, “Syrian Rue”, “African Rue”, “Harmal”

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Peganum harmala, commonly called wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, esfand, or harmel, (among other similar pronunciations and spellings), is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a woody underground root-stock, of the family Nitrariaceae, usually growing in saline soils in temperate desert and Mediterranean regions. Its common English-language name came about because of a resemblance to rue (to which it is not related). Because eating it can cause livestock to sicken or die, it is considered a noxious weed in a number of countries. It has become an invasive species in some regions of the western United States. The plant is popular in Middle Eastern and north African folk medicine. The alkaloids contained in the plant, including the seeds, are hallucinogenic, possibly due to a monoamine…