From the fungus to the statute book

Cited guides to the morning glory species, ergot alkaloid chemistry and pharmacology, the history from ergotism to Hofmann, and lysergamide law by country.

The plants

Argyreia nervosa, Hawaiian baby woodrose: alkaloids, fungus and documented harms: What is in Hawaiian baby woodrose (Argyreia nervosa) seeds, why LSA is not LSD-like at receptors, its Periglandula fungus, and what case reports document.
Ipomoea asarifolia: the morning glory that revealed Periglandula: How experiments on Ipomoea asarifolia proved a fungus makes morning glory ergot alkaloids, and why the plant poisons goats and sheep in Brazil.
Ipomoea tricolor, the blue garden morning glory, and its hidden fungus: Why Ipomoea tricolor seeds contain lysergic acid alkaloids, which fungus makes them (Periglandula clandestina, 2025), and the I. violacea name confusion.
Morning glory and woodrose seeds: documented harms: What case reports, poison centre data and reviews document after people eat morning glory or Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds, and what to do in an emergency.
Turbina corymbosa (Ipomoea corymbosa): ololiuhqui, the Aztec seed: Ololiuhqui, the seed of Turbina corymbosa (now Ipomoea corymbosa): Mesoamerican history, Hofmann's 1960 ergine finding and its fungus, Periglandula turbinae.

Chemistry and pharmacology

Claviceps purpurea, ergot of rye: life cycle, alkaloids and food safety limits: The ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea: how it infects grass flowers, honeydew and sclerotia, its alkaloids, and the EU maximum levels for ergot in cereals.
Clavicipitaceous symbioses: ergot parasites, grass endophytes and the morning glory fungus: How the Clavicipitaceae span parasites (Claviceps), grass endophytes (Epichloe, Balansia) and Periglandula, and the evidence for defensive mutualism.
How fungi make ergot alkaloids: the dmaW gene, the eas cluster and the road to lysergic acid: The ergot alkaloid pathway step by step: dmaW and tryptophan prenylation, the eas gene cluster, chanoclavine, cloA, lysergic acid and the Lps enzymes.
The classes of ergot alkaloids: clavines, lysergic acid amides, ergopeptines and ergopeptams: How ergot alkaloids are grouped: the ergoline core, clavines, simple lysergic acid amides, ergopeptines and ergopeptams, and which fungi make each class.
Ergot alkaloid pharmacology: one scaffold, three receptor families, a shelf of medicines: Why ergot alkaloids hit serotonin, dopamine and adrenergic receptors at once, the medicines made from them, and their valve, fibrosis and interaction risks.
Fescue toxicosis: when a grass endophyte's ergot alkaloids reach livestock: How the tall fescue endophyte Epichloe coenophiala and its alkaloid ergovaline harm cattle and horses, what it costs, and how novel endophytes help.
LSA vs LSD: one amide group, very different drugs: LSA (ergine) and LSD compared: a natural primary amide versus a semi-synthetic diethylamide, how they bind receptors, why seeds cause sickness, and US law.
Lysergic acid: the scaffold behind ergine, ergometrine, ergotamine and LSD: What lysergic acid is, how chemists found it inside the ergot alkaloids, why its total synthesis mattered, and why US law lists it in Schedule III.

History

Albert Hofmann and the ergot programme at Sandoz: How Albert Hofmann's ergot alkaloid work at Sandoz led to LSD in 1938, its effects in April 1943, psilocybin in 1958 and the morning glory alkaloids in 1960.
Ergometrine: the ergot alkaloid that stops bleeding after childbirth: How ergometrine (ergonovine) was found in 1935, why it is used against postpartum haemorrhage, what the trials show, and how methylergometrine followed.
Ergotism: a history of St Anthony's fire: Ergotism from the Middle Ages to the 20th century: gangrenous and convulsive forms, St Anthony's fire, outbreaks, and the Salem and Pont-Saint-Esprit debates.

Law

LSD, LSA and lysergic acid: the law by country: How the UN treaties, US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia list LSD, LSA (lysergamide) and lysergic acid, quoted from official texts as of 18 October 2026.
US federal law on LSD, LSA and the ergot alkaloids: What the Code of Federal Regulations says about LSD (Schedule I), lysergic acid and LSA (Schedule III), ergotamine and ergonovine (List I), and analogues.

Reference

Glossary: ergot alkaloids, from fungus to LSD: Sourced definitions of about 50 terms used on Periglandula.com: the fungi and plants, the ergoline chemistry, the pharmacology, the history and the law.