Lolium temulentum aka Darnel

Lolium temulentum, or darnel, is a grass in the Poaceae family. It is an annual and lives for one year. Other names are ivray, juray, cheats, chess, and tares. Plants For A Future places its native range in Mediterranean Europe. Its records also list Saratov in the Russian Federation. The sources differ on its status in Britain and Ireland. The RHS lists it as native in both places. Plants For A Future says people brought it to Britain, where it occurs from time to time. It records darnel in crop fields and on waste ground.

Darnel grows to about 3.3 feet [1 metre] tall. Plants For A Future says it flowers from June to August. Each flower has both male and female organs. Wind moves the pollen, not insects or other animals. The sources discuss the seed for food and healing uses. They give no more facts about leaf or flower shape.

This grass needs an open site with no shade. It prefers moist soil and grows in normal garden soil. This includes sand, loam, and clay. The soil can be slightly acid, neutral, or slightly alkaline. Plants For A Future gives USDA hardiness zones 4–8. It also says that frost does not harm the plant. Sow seed in spring, right where it will grow. The source lists beds that people tend among its growing sites. It warns that darnel may become a weed. It does not rate how severe this risk is.

The seeds have a past use as cooked food. People have ground them into flour to make bread. They have also used them as piñole. Plants For A Future says they nourish but warns against eating them. A very toxic fungus can infect the seed. The source calls this infection ergot. Small amounts can cause hallucinations, making people sense things that are not there. Larger amounts can cause severe harm to the nervous system. The source makes clear that the fungus causes this danger, not the seed itself.

Plants For A Future also notes uses to ease pain and aid calm or sleep. It links these effects to the fungus found with the seed. It does not credit the seed itself with these effects. These past uses do not make the poisoning risk go away. The source gives low ratings to both food and healing uses. It lists no other known uses for the plant. Its account thus gives little support for growing darnel as a useful crop.