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Peganum harmala
Also called African Rue, Syrian Rue, Wild Rue, Aspand, Esfand, Harmal Shrub, Harmel
Peganum harmala is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a woody underground rootstock, native to dry Mediterranean, temperate desert and steppe regions from the Mediterranean to Mongolia and India. It is hardy and drought tolerant, growing best in sunny, dry, often saline or poor soils.
Peganum harmala, commonly called wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, esfand or espand, or harmel (among other similar pronunciations and spellings), is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a woody underground rootstock, of the family Nitrariaceae, usually growing in saline soils in temperate desert and Mediterranean regions. Its common English-language name came about because of a resemblance to rue (to which it is not related). Its seeds contain a high concentration (at least 5.9% by weight) of diverse beta-carboline alkaloids.
It has deep roots and a strong smell, finely divided leaves, white flowers rich in alkaloids, and small seed capsules containing numerous dark, oily seeds.
It grows in dry areas in the United States. It can be considered a halophyte.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Peganum harmala by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
