also grows in israel in semi-steppe shrublands, mediterranean woodlands and shrublands, and deserts. between 800–1300m elevation on the sandstone slopes of the mountains around petra, jordan, there is an open mediterranean steppe forest dominated by juniperus phoenicea and artemisia herba-alba together with occasional trees of pistacia atlantica and crataegus aronia with common shrubs being thymelaea hirsuta, ephedra campylopoda, ononis natrix, hammada salicornia and anabasis articulata; when this habitat is further degraded (it is already degraded) by overgrazing p. harmala along with noaea mucronata invade. it is often found with euphorbia virgata in the foothills of mount ararat, iğdır province, turkey. the flowers are pollinated by insects. little is known about pollen vectors. a year-long study around the town of st. katherine in the el-tur mountains of southern sinai found p. harmala to be exclusively pollinated by the domesticated honey bee, apis mellifera, although it is possible these animals are displacing native bees. the floral morphology, nectar amount and composition – high in hexane sugars, presence of toxic alkaloids and high proline content together suggest pollination by short-tongued bees (see pollination syndrome). regarding seed dispersal it is considered a barochore. according to a mongolian study, its seeds are exclusively dispersed by human activities, although peganum multisectum, sometimes seen as a variety or synonym of this species, is dispersed solely by water flow. a species of tiny, hairy beetle, thamnurgus pegani, has been found inhabiting stems of p. harmala in turkey and elsewhere. it feeds only on p. harmala. when the aerial parts of the plant begin to die off in the autumn, the adult beetles retreat to overwinter in the soil underneath the root-crown, or in old larval tunnels in the dead stems; emerging in the spring (may in turkey), the females bore small holes in the now shooting stems of the plant, in which they lay their eggs. the hatched larvae bore inward toward the pith. the beetles somehow infect the surrounding tissue in the tunnels with a fungus, fusarium oxysporum. the infected plant tissue turns blackish and is then used by the adult beetles and their larvae as a food source, until they are ready to pupate within the stem tunnels. it has been proposed as a candidate for using in biological control of p. harmala, as a relative of it, t. euphorbiae, has been approved for use against invasive euphorbia in the united states. history as the plant is popular in persian cultural traditions, and is a hallucinogen, the linguists david flattery and martin schwartz wrote a book in 1989 in which they theorised that the plant is the avestan haoma mentioned in zoroastrianism. the transcribed word haoma is thought to be likely related to the vedic word soma; these names refer to a magical, purportedly entheogenic plant/drink that is mentioned in ancient indo-iranian texts but whose exact identity has been lost to history. this plant was first described in a recognisable manner under the name πήγανον ἄγριον (péganon agrion) by dioscorides, who mentions it is called μῶλυ (moly) in parts of anatolia (although dioscorides distinguishes the 'real' μῶλυ as another, bulbaceous plant). galen later describes the plant under the name μῶλυ, following dioscorides by mentioning numerous other names it was known by: ἅρμολαν, armolan (harmala), πήγανον ἄγριον and in syria βησασὰν, besasan (besasa). for much of the subsequent history of europe galen was seen as the pinnacle of human medical knowledge. as such, during the early middle ages, the herb was known as moly or herba immolum. the 12th century arab agriculturist ibn al-'awwam from seville, spain, wrote that the seeds were used in the baking of bread; the fumes being used to facilitate fermentation and help with the taste (he usually quotes older authors). by the mid-16th century dodoens relates how apothecaries sold the plant under the name harmel as a type of extra-strength rue. taxonomy rembert dodoens in 1553 illustrated and described the plant (republished 1583 with better illustration, calling it harmala, and basing his work on galen and dioscorides). in 1596 gaspard bauhin had his phytopinax published in which he attempted to list all plants known in an ordered manner. he judges ruta sylvestris dioscorides to be a type of hypericum. later, in his pinax theatri botanici of 1623 he attempts to sort the synonymy in all the previously published names by the botanists from earlier in history. in this work he sorts ruta into five species, distinguishing this plant from the others by its three-locular fruit, large white flowers and being only known as a wild plant (as opposed to cultivated). he considers his 'ruta sylvestris flore magno albo' (=peganum harmala) to be (not all writers named in the following): tabernaemontanus', dodoens' and clusius' harmala; matthias de l'obel's harmala syriaca; andreas cæsalpinus' and conrad gesner's (in his report on ottoman plants) harmel; pietro andrea mattioli's and clusius' (in another work) ruta sylvestris harmala; valerius cordus' (in his annotations on dioscorides), gesner's (in his hortus), and aloysius anguillara's ruta sylvestris; and castore durante's and joachim camerarius the younger's ruta sylvestris secunda. in 1753 carl linnaeus named the species peganum harmala. he cites this species as based on bauhin's pinax theatri botanici of 1623, and stirpium historiae pemptades sex of 1583 by rembert dodoens. type in 1954 brian laurence burtt and patricia lewis designated 'cult. in horto upsaliensi (linn!)' as the lectotype for the species. this lectotype appeared to be two sheets (621.1 and 621.2) in the linnean herbarium, not being part of a single gathering, and hence icbn art. 9.15 (vienna code) did not apply. in 1993 mohammed nabil el hadidi designated 'clifford herbarium 206, peganum no. 1', stored at the british museum of natural history, as the lectotype for p. harmala. infraspecific variability peganum harmala var. garamantum – p. harmala var. garamantum was originally described by rené maire in 1953 in his flore de l'afrique du nord. it was still recognised as occurring in tunisia as of 2010 (along with var. typicum), although the distinction is not recognised in other works. peganum harmala var. grandiflorum – el hadidi described p. harmala var. grandiflorum in 1972 for the flora iranica based on herbarium material collected by h. bobek in tal shahdad in kerman province, iran in 1956, and said the variety grew in both iran and afghanistan. it was subsequently collected only once more, at least as recorded in the gbif, in 1980 in spain near the bank of the ebro river approximately halfway downriver to the sea from zaragosa. it is not mentioned in the flora iberica. peganum harmala var. multisecta – first described by karl maximovich in 1889 from qinghai. sometimes incorrectly spelled var. multisectum. occurs in dzungaria, hexi, qaidam basin, ordos and the altai regions in china and mongolia. in china it occurs in the provinces of inner mongolia, northern shanxi, ningxia, gansu, qinghai, xinjiang and tibet (the flora of china claims it is endemic to china). it can be distinguished by having the sepals (called 'calyx leaves' in one study) incised with 3–5 lobes, instead of being entire as in the nominate form (p. nigellastrum, which also occurs in the region, has this characteristic even more pronounced, but with the calyx leaves split into 5–7 thin string-like lobes), and by having leaves which are more dissected or may be trisected. the leaves are dissected to 3–5 lobes in the nominate form – the individual leaf lobes being 1.5–3 mm wide, whereas this variety always has more than 5 lobes 1–1.5 mm wide. the nominate form has seeds with a depressed surface, whereas var. multisecta has seeds with convex surface. furthermore, the stems of this variety sprawl prostrate upon the ground, whereas the nominate has erect stems, and the variety has stems which are pubescent when young as opposed to always glabrous. some consider it better to classify it as an independent species, p. multisectum (fide bobrov, 1949). others consider it a synonym of the nominate form. peganum harmala var. rothschildianum – originally described by cactus specialist franz buxbaum in 1927 as p. rothschildianum from northern africa. subsumed as a variety by rené maire in 1953. not recognised for tunisia, nor elsewhere. peganum harmala var. stenophyllum – this variety is still accepted by some authorities, although it is not recognised in the flora of pakistan. pierre edmond boissier described it in 1867 and it has been recognised as growing in iran, iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, india, tajikistan, and the northern caucasus. in india it is found in kashmir, punjab, haryana, rajasthan, uttar pradesh, gujarat, maharashtra and karnataka. it can be distinguished from the nominate form by having finer leaves with more narrow lobes, shorter sepals and broader-shaped seed capsules. legal issues in the united states, it is considered an invasive, noxious weed in the following states: arizona (prohibited noxious weed), california (a listed noxious weed), colorado (a listed noxious weed), nevada (noxious weed), new mexico (class b noxious weed), and oregon (a designated weed, under quarantine). this may require land owners to exterminate infestations on their land or be fined, and allows access to government grants to buy herbicides to do so. it is illegal to sell plants of this species in the states listed above. since 2005, with caveats, the cultivation, possession or sale of this species is also illegal in louisiana. since 2005 the possession of the seeds, the plant itself, and the alkaloids harmine and harmaline, which it contains, is illegal in france. in finland, the plant is officially listed as a medicinal plant, which means one would require a doctors prescription to acquire it. in canada, harmaline is illegal. in australia, harmala alkaloids are illegal. uses peganum harmala seeds as sold in iran and middle eastern foods grocery store as incense weed and livestock poisoning in some regions it is a common weed. in china it is seen as a noxious weed, invasive in overgrazed areas. in the united states, where it is not native, it is officially registered as a noxious weed or similar designation in arizona, california, colorado, nevada, new mexico and oregon. infestations can be invasive and very difficult to exterminate. it is also known as an agricultural seed contaminant. it often causes livestock poisonings, especially during drought. consumption by animals causes reduced fertility and abortions. control is possible only with powerful herbicides. manually uprooting the plants is near impossible and there are no methods of biological control currently awaiting approval. the rootstock contains starches that help the plant survive being defoliated and is thick and grows very deep, and the crown of the plant is safe below the surface. dyes a red dye, "turkey red", from the seeds (but usually obtained from madder) is often used in western asia to dye carpets. it is also used to dye wool. when the seeds are extracted with water, a yellow fluorescent dye is obtained. if they are extracted with alcohol, a red dye is obtained. the stems, roots and seeds can be used to make inks, stains and tattoos. according to one source, for a time the traditional ottoman fez was dyed with the extract from this plant. traditional medicine and superstitions in iran and neighbouring countries such as turkey and azerbaijan, dried capsules from the plant are strung and hung in homes or vehicles to protect against "the evil eye". it is widely used for protection against djinn in morocco (see légey "essai de folklore marocain", 1926). esfand (called isband in kashmiri) is burnt in kashmiri hindu weddings to create an auspicious atmosphere. burning esfand seeds is also common in persian cultures for warding off the evil eye, as in persian weddings. syrian rue in yemen, the jewish custom of old was to bleach wheaten flour on passover, in order to produce a clean and white unleavened bread. this was done by spreading whole wheat kernels upon a floor, and then spreading stratified layers of african rue (peganum harmala) leaves upon the wheat kernels; a layer of wheat followed by a layer of wild rue, which process was repeated until all wheat had been covered over with the astringent leaves of this plant. the wheat was left in this state for a few days, until the outer kernels of the wheat were bleached by the astringent vapors emitted by the wild rue. afterwards, the wheat was taken up and sifted, to rid them