Peganum harmala

Peganum Harmala - Syrian Rue

Peganum harmala, also known as Syrian rue, is an herb that has been used for many centuries. 

These seeds can also be used to grow your own Peganum harmala plants.

Syrian Rue Information

Peganum harmala is a herbaceous plant with a woody underground rhizome. It belongs to the Nitrariaceae family and typically grows in the salty soils of temperate deserts and Mediterranean regions. Because the plant is popular in Persian cultural traditions and is a hallucinogen, linguists Flattery and Schwarz wrote a book in 1989 in which they theorize that the plant may be the Avestan haoma mentioned in ancient Persian Zoroastrian texts.

Cultivation

Peganum harmala is easy to grow from seed. Sow the seeds sparingly in a sandy soil mix at the end of spring (indoors) and water sparingly. Place them in a sunny spot at a minimum temperature of 20 °C. Once mature (and moved outdoors), the plant tolerates drought and frost; the leaves then die off and the roots go into dormancy. At the first sign of spring, the plant awakens again.

Peganum harmala contains a high concentration of substances that can be very dangerous when combined with certain foods or psychoactive substances that are normally harmless. Avoid foods containing tyramine and do not combine with SSRIs (prescription or recreational) or similar medications.

These herbs are intended as ethnobotanical herbs; it is not our objective to offer these herbs for human consumption.