Field of Science

Rye bread, fungal disease, demonry and witchcraft

Over at the Scientist Gardener blog, my colleague MAT kinase explains the connection between rye grains infested with ergot, a fungal disease of cereals, and its likely association with suspected outbreaks of demonry and witchcraft as in Salem, Mass in 1692. This is a pretty interesting interaction between plants and people, one my economic botany class always is fascinated by. This illustrates how when inexplicable events occur people ascribe them to the supernatural.

No comments: