Darnel (Lolium temulentum) is a common garden weed known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who thought it was poisonous, causing stupefication and “drunkenness.” It’s mentioned in the Bible, too (in the parable of the Tares, tares probably being another name for darnel—in Matthew 13:24-30) Nowadays scientists are pretty sure the poisonous properties are caused by a fungus similar to ergot (which I’ve blogged about here). Symptoms may include drowsiness, slurred speech, difficulty walking, vomiting, and hypnotic episodes.

I recently finished a really cool book called A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities, by J.C. McKeown, a professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He cites a passage from Pliny’s Natural History (18.156) where bath managers in the provinces of Greece and Asia get rid of a crowd of bathers by throwing some darnel seeds onto the coals.

I guess that’s like the waiters who put the chairs on top of tables around customers who linger too late.