Ergot Poisoning / Ergotism

Ergot is a fungus that grows on & in rye, and the odd time on or in other crop grasses like wheat. If left, the plants show a black mould type growth on them. It is prevalent at this time, at least on & off depending on both conditions & breed of plant. Most plants aren't treated or bred to protect against the disease, and it can decimate whole fields of crops. It is not uncommon for one or two plants to make it into the yields during harvesting, and make it's way into produce like bread or livestock feed. The disease it causes in creatures is called Ergotism. It has an effect in low doses to act similar to LSD (which is based on the chemical composition of the toxins in ergot). This leads to strange behaviour by those who ingest it, as well has hallucinatory effects of all kinds, and not all pleasant. One though is that it leads to the belief in witchcraft in some regions due to this effect, both on the supposed victims, and the people labelled as witches. The reaction that occurs is also known as St. Anthony's fire, and the contamination causes narrowing of blood vessels in different regions of the body, with enough of a strong dosage can cause excessive damage to vital organs, causing death in some.

Type

Fungal