I've been wondering why most grass I have tried has been so distinctly euphoric. After some research, I have come to the conclusion that Hordenine contributes significantly to euphoria.

İt is usually considered an unwanted alkaloid, however, it seems to have some valuable pharmacological and healing properties. As a strong mao-b inhibitor, for example, it bestows an extra focus, clarity, groundedness, and has neuroprotective effect. Of course, we don't know the healthy dose or ratio of alkaloids in a brew are, and I am also not clear what it's differences are from n methyl tyramine, the second most prevalent tyramine in phalaris. Too much is likely dangerous with mao inhibitors, but what is the window is unknown. My dangerous experiences could have been from a high dose of either or both tyramines, and/or 5 MeO DMT, (in combination with high dose syrian rue).

Apparently, both these tyramines are found in barley grass, a purported super health food.

And Hordenine is also found in cacti, and san pedro has been proven to be reasonably safe in combination with syrian rue.

It's about two months since planting my phalaris. They are all steadily growing and becoming more robust. Th strain of brachy which is from a distant area has started showing some drying of leaves, and it's not from lack of water. I wonder if it could be from too much water and/or humidity, as the region I had encountered it's wild form was a drier place.

The time is approaching for bioassays... Really exciting. What are the alkaloid profiles of these 3 brachy strains? Any 5-MeO-DMT? If so, is that good or bad? Any gramine? What is the n,n concentration?

As for aquatica and truncata, I plan to drink them without rue. I highly suspect that this will be the proper way to go with them. In the spring I had drank truncata alone and experienced a warm healing effect. The winter alkaloids apparently are higher.

It is possible that some molds have taken hold of the grass. Did you check for that ?

Brachystachis is an annual species, iirc. It's possible that the growth cycle of the plant is driven by day length and you're merely seeing it respond to winter by, er, dying. The dried up leaves might be worth an extraction, at least for TLC analysis.

Finally tried my brachys! (orally with rue)

30g fresh foliage lightly simmered, 2 washes, no acid added.

It made a moderate dose. Very clear DMT. I did not notice any 5 MeO.

Visually very active, though it was not particularly colorful this time.

Euphoric. Started off with Tuvan sygyt music in my head, and it came back throughout the experience.

Stoning/sedating... That I don't prefer.

No physical discomfort. I had apprehension in the beginning, judging from my previous experience with truncata which was alright in the spring but deadly in the Fall. But there were no side effects this time; the alkaloid profiles from last spring and this Winter (when I harvested and prepared this medicine) appear consistent enough. This species appears to be safer than many other Phalaris species.

I am grateful for experiencing the magic.

Have you ever extracted the alkaloids of Phalaris grasses?

Era/is, no I have not.

The afterglow feels good, I am boosted.

I am wondering what causes the extra stoning/sedation in the experience. Is it gramine?

Is there anybody out there who is familiar with the subjective effects of gramine?

Fourthripley's comment that the alkaloid levels drop in cold weather might be true. Last spring my experience with almost half this amount might have been stronger. Though last year I was boiling it with vinegar and now I did a simmer with no acid.

I could harvest again now with the weather getting warmer. I am also not afraid of trying higher doses.

I don't have extensive experience to really judge, but I've had an intuition that grass is more like spiritual food than master plant to replace chacruna or Chaliponga in a brew. I think there is no question that this brachystachys is potent enough for extraction.

As I suggested at the time, it is not the gramine that makes the plant narcotic.

I know that Phalaris also contain MAOIs and these have their effects.

Gramine poisoning is manifested by tremors, diarrhea, a sensation of boiling, vomiting.

Even purifying with A / B and precipitation and subsequent extraction with C7 the narcotic effects remain.

Using it I see little brightness since it is the darkness that makes its way. Apart from the green luminosity that I would call azoic.

I would say winter plants have more alkaloids, as do spring ones before they get ready to make spikes.
I think you have observed that plants up to 8 months are rich in alkaloids.
This is what I have observed in the aquatica and vivipara plants, which in my part of the world grow all year round.

You have described many beautiful experiences, it is a pleasure to read you.

Thank you, Era/is. It's nice to have an experienced Phalaris aficionado here.

Have you ever tried drying the grass before preparation? I know conventional wisdom tells to use fresh material for higher alkaloid content, but what if this "narcotic" effect is diminished through drying? Just an idea. For which "undesirable effects" did Appleseed recommend drying Phalaris? There are a few possible ones.

The afterglow is really good. This grass has some potential.

No physical side effects, no tyramines... Just the sedation might be a hindrance to making music.

I have quite a lot growing and I think I will harvest and dry as I cannot consume it all in a short time. I'll do the same with aquatica and report back how drying appears to change their characters, besides their potencies.

Thank you, among phalaris interested we can say that they are strict but very beautiful friends.

There may be etheric substances present that would be lost with drying.
If some of these substances are found to be harmful, drying would be helpful.

I also used dried plants (and fresh) and I like to keep them in the bedroom, because they purifie the air and give a good smell.

Sometimes I make acetate which I purify using white clay. So I get a product that is good to smoke (+ hashish = phalahash, phalash).
Finding a way to remove the glycosides could give a better product, but also the clay-acetate method leaves a tasty product.



Have you ever distilled the plant powder?

You can put a layer of clay in the still, then one of phalaris powder and then clay.
The powder thus does not burn and rising slowly with the temperature a liquid is obtained.
(no water is used)

Very interesting, I have not tried that.

Harvested today from both brachy (pic 1) and aquatica (2). Drying them both this time.

Both species produce a lot of seeds but this aquatica proved to be amazing in seed production and rate of germination and growth. It also has appeared to be at least as potent as the brachystachys so far. It's just not as pure N,N in its alkaloids as brachy, but it showed a valuable synergy of 5-MeO and N,N. It also had the least side effects among the aquaticas I had tested last year, but that also might be due to the later growth phase. Anyhow, it will.be interesting to test this fresh chlorophyllaceous growth after drying (same for brachy). Are the unwanted effects overcome/attenuated? How is the potency affected? I hope to discover.

Very attractive phalaris grass

Now i'm researching about mixes between phalaris#holcus, phalaris alcaloids# mimosa, phalaris alkaloids#lsd and variants

I will be able to add something more with the passage of time...

Just this:

Wow! Which Bufo species is that?

I think a bufo bufo.
She was comfortable and didn't go away in my presence. Evidently she liked it. Among the larger Phalaris, on the other hand, the lizards dwell... ... it's always nice to make some comments when I see them moving between plants.

What are some of the other species of plants that you're finding growing in the company of Phalaris plants in your area and spots ?

One that I can remember clearly is a water loving species of Mentha aquatica growing with Phalaris arundinacea.

I am wondering if it would make any sense to add those various plants into the Phalaris brews to extendend the healing psycho-physical effects of those brews. For example Menthas are well known for their various healing effects in a traditional context.

What do you think ?

Thank you for your local ecosystem based approach, Triglav. İt's not easy to come by another one. Unfortunately I have not become a Phalaris expert and I cannot comment on mixing it with mentha. Among other plants, I have seen Sorghum, various other species of Phalaris, and mugwort growing with Phalaris. From my experience with dieting/getting to know local plants and experimenting with synergies in general, all I can say is that it is a long term process of hard work, requiring much time and energy, and you have to have a really strong connection and intuition if you are to discover anything at all. Also, never rush (to find a synergy) and digest your acquainting processes with the plants one by one. Best of luck to you, please keep us informed!

The picture I have been getting with Phalaris and Phragmites is that there is no species which can be used straightforwardly in an ayahuasca analogue. All of them have some components which are deadly toxic at worst or not constructive for the synergy at best, and it seems they are not limited to alkaloids (gramine, tyramines etc). I am not a molecule extraction person and I have hope that there might be more down to earth methods of making some of these species workable.

My recent, tentative experiments with Phalaris var. picta indicated this same toxicity problem when combined with rue tea. Something wasn't quite right and it didn't seem worth the risk to health (and possibly life) to continue without finding a safer path.


My inclination would be to try the clay distillation outlined by Era/is:
Some questions:
Which type of clay is optimal? Would that be dry clay powder, like bentonite? What material is the distillation vessel made from? What form of distillation vessel is used - retort, alembic, round flask or something else? Does the liquid distill over and collect in a receiver vessel, or can it be collected from the upper surface of the clay?