So I confirmed that brachystachys is potent after drying, 5-10g being a sufficient dose with rue. However my drying was not quick, I had just let the harvested grass in the open. If 10g fresh grass can be a good dose, then a potency loss is evident. The next time I will do a quick oven dry and report back on the potency.

Hi Sidisheikh.mehriz, your experience with truncata matches mine. İt seems to appear strong in the beginning but then fades into a mush. This 'mush' İ felt to not be healthy for the awareness, a specific branch of the general phalaris toxicity which brings unconsciousness. İt was the same even with dried and simmered grass, so I wrote off truncata with rue. By itself it was interesting in my 2 experiments two years ago. Not a tryptamine experience, but more like beta carboline teacher vibe. İ dont know if I will pursue it later, but for now the only Phalaris species I dig is brachystachys.

Hi Dithy, the truncata brew with roasted rue had more physical high and stimulant effect than an experience in the mind. Each time I took a sip of the truncata tea I had another wave of stimulation that was almost instant and likewise faded quickly. Nothing really of concern though.

By far my most memorable experience with phalaris was a mixture of brachys, paradoxa and truncata. Brachys making the majority of the brew which was in the anthesis stage and showing signs of water stress, it looked poorly with little biomass. As you probably know brachys will heavily invest in producing seeds rather than making biomass when it's water stressed, that's what my brachys patch looked like when I found it on a high plain of clay soil wheat field.

I'll never forget that powerful sudden come up that made me jump off my seat in panic . A moment before that I was feeling frustrated and about to write off the experience as a failure! Not much open eye visuals but it was a feeling at that moment of sudden come up when I looked around me and felt a presence that's unseen for the eye. Visually everything looked almost as normal except my perception of reality was altered. I wish I had a richer vocabulary to describe this. It has really put me on my guard and got me in the mode of trying to survive a bad trip. Went back in from kitchen to bedroom (it was late night) shivering cold I could hear the shaking in my breathing. Eyes closed with dancing flashing lights under my eye lid

Those flashing lights introduced me to the euphoria stage of the trip. That's when the shivering was gone and replaced with blissful warmth. Left me smiling the whole time. soon I relaxed and high. I was far in lala land hahahahaha it made me giggle and laugh from my heart with content. It flatters me flirts with me and tease me like this spirit was really benovelant.

Soon after it was time for some lessons and messages to be heard. The rest of the trip was very integuingly a continuation of my day dreaming while harvesting the grass and enjoying the beautiful landscape. It was like an answer to all my wonderings that day while I was busy harvesting and trying to think and imagine what the trip will be like.

My answer was a revelation of my origin and where I exactly belong. It's that very soil from which I harvested. Land of my ancestors. We're intertwined. That soil is the common soul of all what lives on top of it. The soil took the form of a great grandfather with a handful of wheat in his hand. I think the spirit in this brew was the very land itself speaking through the grass. It was full of love and felt very familiar.

In fact I always miss that place I even think about that spot and landscape when I moved away and always want to come back there.

I can't wait to get back to it next season for another harvest and drink! How amazing it would be to have another encounter with that spirit!

Wow Ssm! A lot of the qualities you describe in the experience is at least partially from rue. As you might know, with Ayahuasca, the DMT containing plant is seen as a helper/light to connect to the main teacher/healer medicine which is caapi. Rue is a different plant but there is an analogy in the rue + DMT plant mixture. Rue really connects to land for example. (The grass should.be a channel to the soil it comes from regardless :-)) And rue can bring one to the most familiar space ... "Home" Apparently in ancient Egypt it was the plant of the god of home and I can really understand that.

My latest theoretical tek with brachy to be tested is: quick dry to preserve potency, powder, then do multiple cold soaks, combine and reduce. This might prove to not only be completely side effect free (however benign the side effects of brachy are already), but also the cleanest light there is to experience.

Looking back at my experience I do remember instances where I was in a dreamy state feeling sleepy while am trying to write some notes on my phone. Similar sleepiness as when tripping on bredgesii cactus tea or bredgesii full spectrum extract. I mean I am sedated but not enough to send me to sleep. I'd describe the sedation as enjoyable and warm.
The only time I had some concerns of toxicity is when I was shivering cold at the beginning but now I realized that these are common effects of a tryptamine rush. Actually I didn't sleep until the sun came up.

Perhaps the toxicity has more to do with personal differences in metabolism routes between people rather than the alkaloids itself? My first experience with phalaris many years ago was with a huge stand of truncata that was my height it had huge panicles that made me think it was aquatica. I drank a tea out of it without rue. I didn't experience any trip but I could swear it was a pure aphrodisiac!

Just careful when drying the grass not to over heat it. Once it's dry soaking should be enough since it will suck up the acidic water fairly easy because how dry it is. I wish we were able to swap our strains of brachys to understand the differences.

Roasted Rue in my experience gives me a pleasant trip on its own with very vivid closed eye visuals and some open eyes tracers but no significant themes or messages. My last rue trip had a lot of colour to it ..blooming flowers in time lapse ever changing sceneries of forests, cities, the sahara., aurora's in the sky. It was like traveling the world enjoying the landscapes. Beautiful images of figures that shapes up and melts and drips. Crystal clear, vivid and euphoric but no connection to home.

Non roasted rue is a whole different story. Difficult body load that shapes up the visions and thoughts of the trip. Even though it's a teacher i'd never call it an friendly teacher It doesn't matter whether it's unroasted Syrian rue or full spectrum unroasted Syrian rue extract. I think it's the harmaline that gives me that hissing noise in my ears, smoke hallucinations in the air and terrible body load. Harmine dominant rue is just so crip and much less foggy.

I have heavily researched the topic of phalaris brachys germination and response to moisture and temperature. The germination parameters of brachystachus seeds as a invasive weed in cereal crops is well documented.
You can germinate it at any time of the year under controlled conditions as long as it has passed its dormant phase or dormancy has been broken though a heat or chemical treatment like with sulfiric acid.

I have documented my steps to germinate the seeds at (phalaris the way of the future) thread. Basically you'll need a styrofoam box, a thermometer, heat treated soil and a fridge. You can germinate the seeds even in summer this way with high percentage and then transplant to a shady cool place.

Yes, cactus is known to have a sedation in the come up. The sedation effect is complex in grass, so many different components are noted to be sedative: gramine and bufotenine are the alkaloids I know about. And I am sure there are non alkaloid components that are sedative. If the sedation is transitory and does not bring a fog to the experience it could be acceptable. If it brings unconsciousness it definitely is not acceptable. A certain processing appears necessary and I am working on a primitive method.

I am also interested in the difference between our brachy strains. And I am keen on reading your first successful rue and brachy only brew experience. The strain I have is like a crystal clear DMT only tryptamine strain, and it appears to be over 1% in potency before flowering. I might go as far as saying it is experientially possibly more pure DMT than Psychotria. Thanks for warning about heating, I was thinking like 70 C or perhaps even plain sun drying.

As for rue, it also has strains... The cold face is more known in modern forums. I know one, precisely the one growing over Çatalhoyuk to be like a merciless military commander in a boot camp. The strain I am allied to grows around a lake and is very warm and loving. I also discovered/developed a certain preparation method which softens and opens the spirit. I couldn't feel good with roasting. Do you harvest your rue like you harvest your grass? It's at least as rewarding, a very sacred ritual. Also, no need to go beyond 5g with rue. Just fast for at least 4 hours before and you get sensitized.

I read your posts on Brachystachys germination. Did I get it right? Briefly, it needs alternating temperatures of heat and cold during day and night? And for breaking the dormancy, just a few hours in 4 C is enough?

Those are some interesting prospects you brought up like the strain of rue and the preparations before ingestion. I buy my rue seeds from a local herbal shop they are harvested locally. It grows in a semi arid environment along with sidr shrub (ziziphus Lotus). Rue flowers are a component of the honey I produce as a beekeeper along with sidr and thyme. I can smell rue flowers when I open a hive cover when rue is in full bloom. It gives the honey a bitter taste. Has an off smell too like some dirty socks when it's nectar hasn't ripened in the combs yet but it adds great medicinal value to the honey.

I could harvest my own rue if I wanted and maybe I should give it a try to see if it feels any different.

If I had to take a guess I'd say my brachystachys strain was predominantly 5-meo-dmt considering how intense the trip was yet lacking in visuals.

To jump back to germination, to break seed dormancy you either let the seeds sit around the whole summer or heat treat the seeds in some sort of incubator at ~50 degrees for a few hours ( it's been a while since I read the paper so am not exactly sure until I find the price of research again and share it) the experiment was conducted in Iran.

Alternatively you can treat the seeds with concentrated sulfiric acid for like 3 minutes and wash with distilled water.

Yes alternating temperature is important for germination. It worked for me between 4 and 15 degrees Celsius but you can still succeed at slightly higher marginals than that. You are basically trying to replicate the weather in winter which is the main germination time of brachystachys as a winter cereal crop invasive weed.

Very interesting with the beekeeping rue honey! I've noticed hoenybees flocking to rue flowers also.

Thanks for the germination advice!

And if you ask me, I wouldn't say your brachystachys strain has a lot of 5-meo-dmt because this molecule is not supposed to be ego affirming, and also it comes with a very intense body load and I didn't get that impression from your descriptions. But I may be wrong.

I had a fair deal of body load on the harmala extract prior to drinking the phalaris tea as the extract leaned towards the high dose. That body load just vanished soon as the phalaris effects started to become clear so yeah the phalaris has zero body load.

Whatever that was in there wasn't any more visual than a fairly moderate dose of bredgesii cactus extract but the intensity of the mental effects were frightening at the beginning I thought I could scream at some point in panic. glad the trip turned out to be so crisp and smooth after all but I can tell how unpredictable it was and how or could have turned into a harsh teacher. Maybe I deserved a little slap in the face initially for my wrong doings before I was rewarded hahahaha. Like it's saying; you're a good person but watch out for the bad shit you do from time to time.

Yes this is interesting. And I suspect that also the climate and local circumstances has a big influence.
But also that it probably is less of an issue when taking extractions of the pure alkaloids.



I'm curious. What is the preparation you're doing? I'm deepening my relations with rue bit by bit, From only using extracted alkaloids, I'm now brewing teas, unroasted and roasted.

A bit off to the threads topic, but I hope it's ok.

Murklan, I sprout the seeds. This clears and opens the rue. However it usually loses significant potency and to find a way to get around that is an art. But I found even on it's weakest form it is immensely useful as a medicine that really brings me back to peace and harmony. I am a freak of sensitivity and this might not apply to most people.

Very interesting! I've never thought about sprouting rue. But do you then eat them as they are, brew a tea or do an extract of the sprouted seeds? And have you had them together with DMT? Could be a way to find out is/how the compositions changes by sprouting. How well if works as an MAOI for example.

Eating can be amazing but I brew a tea for long term preservation. İt's a volatile state, with a little more development the alkaloids are mostly metabolized. With drying it also loses its activity. With sprouting it turns the light on but loses its driving force. And without that force, most people dont recognize these qualities that I experience. İ am working on preserving the force.

So tea from freshly sprouted seeds. Intriguing.
How long do you let then sprout? Can you visibly se them sprouting? I wonder if it has to be relatively fresh seeds for germination to ta place...

The fresher the better, but rue has quite a high viable staying rate. Eat them if you want to really feel what I am talking about.

Back to Phalaris...

My experience has shown me how unique each grass is and that just focussing on the dominant alkaloid or even a single alkaloid if it is a single alkaloid species is misleading. Brachystachys appears to have the most legitimate synergy with rue... And I wonder how a 5 MeO containing strain would be with rue. I am actually interested in getting to know different strains now... I have seeds from a strain I harvested in another region of the country growing in a different habitat (sandy pine forest vs wheat field). I hope to grow and bioassay that one too.

And it seems I won't be able to sow sees till mid fall... Patience...

There we go. I am ready for the brachystachys season. Any experience/knowledge on the best times to harvest and the best frequency to harvest is welcome.

Some say winter is not good for harvesting but my one winter harvest was quite potent. And I harvested three times throughout the life cycle last time. Perhaps try four times this year.

I just read over Titus's second experience again and noticed he boiled fresh material with added acid, exactly as I said how NOT to do it. All grass is tricky in my experience and just because a species seems weak or toxic with a certain preparation does not mean that it does not have a reachable highly rewarding form.

My brachy garden has grown enough for the first harvest but life for me is really heavy in this period. I hope to do a test in a few weeks.

First harvest.

100g fresh, mostly young undeveloped seedlings.
Harvested at sunset.
Oven dried and went down to 16g.
Immediately powdered and simmered to 65 C, no acid added.

Will report when try.

Noteworthy observation 1: I got into a very clear and strong "sacred" headspace inhaling the steam from the oven.

2: The smell is pleasant. Aromatic, nutty/soapy reminiscent of bitter almonds and apricot seeds. Nutty and soapy raises suspicions of a high concentration of cyanogenic glycosides... Because of using very young seedlings? I will see the effects...

Could somebody please clearly iterate what the expected side effects from cyanogenic glycosides with rue could be? We really need to clarify the toxicity mechanisms in grass if we are to get anywhere with it.