The Mystery in the Rye: Ergot and LSD - A Cultural-Historical Quest

There are countless reports on microorganisms and their special abilities. The saga of the ergot fungus is perhaps the most unusual of them all. The unique history of this plant pathogenic microbe, which began with its infection of grasses, is told through a broad storyline that stretches from the early medical writings of Mesopotamia, Greece, and China, to the industrial and academic laboratories of pharmaceutical research in the 21st century....

Among cultivated grasses, the ergot fungus ...