Tares - The herb Darnel Lisium

[angeliquemb9]

Interestingly, the other verse that caught my attention for the reason that it mentioned weeds (and as we know, herbalists can't resist weeds) was in Matthew 13, where Jesus gave the parable of the weeds or tares.  Now, tares are the common name for various types of vetch - many of which are exceedingly useful (astragalus comes to mind immediately).  However, Biblical scholars believe that the tare referred to here is the Darnel lisium plant, which looks remarkably like a wheat plant until it goes to seed.  While the seeds themselves are relatively useful as a sedative (and can actually be used to grind into flour), unfortunately they are extremely prone to a fungus which grows on the seeds and when consumed by mammals can cause hallucinations, irrational behavior, convulsions and death, among a wide variety of other possible consequences.  Given the wide availability of other sedatives, giving this one a wide berth seems justified.  Goes to show the facinating advice in the Bible. :)