Chimp Z said:
Are you able to snap some pictures of the plant's stem, foliage, seeds and flowers/seedheads?
I'm interested in what this Brachystachys looks like, because usually Brachystachys is pretty clean with its tryptamine alkaloid content in my experience. It'd help to have more insight in to potential side-effects from even the perceivably "clean" strains.
Here are some photos of the habit, stem, and foliage. Unfortunately I don't have any seedheads as they aren't in flower. These are not the plants I harvested from, but are grown from the same seed. These are in a smaller pot, and the ones I harvested from which were in a bigger pot sometimes grew with a less apparent clumping habit than the ones in the photos, instead growing quite tall and upright, at least when unrestrained by crowding.
I recently did another bioassay on the same plants that I originally harvested from, and I'm also beginning to wonder if I have aquatica on my hands instead of brachys. 10g of fresh material was used, some of it partially dried on account of me neglecting the grass for the last month, watering it very sparingly (although it has been helped along by rain and cool temperatures). The material came primarily from 2-3 plants that had matured and grown a bit larger than the grass in the photos (but shared the clumping habit, perhaps on account of crowding, I'm not sure), and a bit from many small seedlings with only 2-3 leaves that had been stunted by crowding, although this was all still regrowth. The foliage was boiled in 3 litres of water with half a tbsp of vinegar for 3 hours, reduced down to a 1/2 litre, reserved, then another boil was done with only 2 litres of water and half a tbsp of vinegar, also 3 hours. The boils were combined and reduced down to a shot. 150mg of harmalas were taken at 8:15pm, the mixture drunk at 8:50pm. First effects were felt 9:00-9:05pm, building to a purge around 9:15pm, where the effects were at their peak. Then a slow fall-off of effects until there was essentially nothing happening by 12:00am.
The effects were pretty much was I would have expected if I repeated the first experiment with a third of the plant material. The same unconsciousness, nausea, numbness and heart-rate stuff was all present, building until the purge, after which these effects subsided and the experience became a lot more pleasant, just as in the first experiment albeit a lot more manageable. There was little visual action until the purge, just before and during which there was rainbow colouring over my vision, vibrant visuals reminiscent of an oil slick, although these were both extremely short-lived, disappearing almost completely once I got done throwing up. There was no 'trip', really, unlike the first experiment with 30g. It was more like regular consciousness with side effects. The effects wore off surprisingly quickly, the whole thing only lasting 3-4 hours.
Having had both experiences, I realise that the shocking potency (the fact that 10g fresh does anything at all is pretty amazing) plus the unpredictable side effects and chemical constituents of the plants (as well as their unknown interactions with MAOIs) make oral phalaris brews a very risky prospect, only really for those a lot braver than I am. I'm not very fond of feeling like I've seriously poisoned myself. Perhaps trying some more extractions to make a safer smokeable product is a better way to go for me. There are other plants/mushrooms that can give the same intensity and depth of psychedelic experience without the extremely unnerving prospect of being seriously ill and having no idea if you'll be ok, so for the moment I might stick to them. The sheer potency of phalaris (at least brachys, or whatever it is I have), and the ease that it can be grown means I'll certainly keep experimenting with it in some way or another, but I'm not sure if this route is for me. Good luck to all you guys though
Be careful!
I'd like to see a few mature pics if possible, and will post some of mine hunted the following days..
