Samartha Deva wrote:

> Absolutely - witch hunts and major disease and death in populations with
> ergot poisoning.
>
> http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty...135/LECT12.HTM
>
> I find some of those longish dark grains, often broken, pretty regular
> in my rye grain. What's weird though is that they are white in the middle.
>
> Samartha

And Claviceps spp. are closely related to another rather tasteless, but
generally regarded as beneficial/medicinal fungus, Cordyceps sinensis.
Only two genera in the family Clavicipitaceae; their physical
similarities are striking. I wonder how much of their molecular biology
is common?

Dave