The hints that dinos got high come from the first amber fossil ever found of ergot, a grass parasite that can have poisonous and mind-altering effects on animals that nibble the dark fungi.

Now is time for forage producers to cut hay to avoid ergot bodies from developing. “If you don’t cut it, those seed will develop ergot bodies,” Roberts said.

Ergot bodies in seed heads produce toxic alkaloids that can cause severe illness and death in cattle, horses, small ruminants, llamas, alpacas and swine. The toxins are chemically related to LSD.

A fear of ergot has been subtly inseminated throughout the U. S. during the last year, adding to the trepidation of conception. This week the source of that fear, a trade controversy, became public.

Ergotism, or ergot poisoning, is when a person or animal eats food that has been contaminated with a fungus called C. purpurea. The fungus is most commonly found in rye, but it can affect other ...

Better disease resistance in Canada’s first durum variety resistant to ergot may expand the wheat crop’s foothold on Manitoba farms.

In addition, ergot has a potent oxytocic action and also causes stimulation of the CNS, followed by depression. "Cattle may be affected by eating ergotized hay or grain or occasionally by grazing ...

Ergot thrives in warm, damp, rainy springs and summers. When Caporael examined the diaries of Salem residents, she found that those exact conditions had been present in 1691.

The Universal Laboratories building played a key role during World War II by ensuring that the United States had an adequate domestic supply of the essential crude drug ergot. As war threatened to ...

Medicine: Ergot Controversy, Ended 2 minute read TIME September 15, 1930 12:00 AM GMT-4 ...