ergot

I was excited and a bit worried to find this fungi on a trip to the New Forest in October. We were looking in Denny Woods hoping to find some interesting edible mushrooms and as I stood absent-mindedly picking the seeds from a grass I looked down to see funny black twiggy bits in my hand... looking down at the grass I realised that this was Ergot fungus - something that I had seen in Roger Phillips book but never in real life. I was a bit worried being pregnant and knowing how potent it was and was very glad to be able to wash my hands when I got back to the house!!

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals, that consuming grains contaminated with the fruiting structure. The common name for ergotism is "St. Anthony's Fire". Ergotism symptoms include vasoconstriction of blood vessels, sometimes leading to gangrene and loss of limbs as well as hallucinations,convulsions, and even death. Other symptoms include strong uterine contractions, nausea, seizures, and unconsciousness. Since the Middle Ages, controlled doses of ergot were used to induce abortions and to stop maternal bleeding after childbirth and ergot extract has been used in pharmaceutical preparations, including ergometrine, used to induce uterine contractions and to control bleeding after childbirth.