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African rue   (Peganum harmala L.) 

A member of the Caltrop family, African rue is a multibranched perennial. African rue is a succulent herb with leaves that are alternate, smooth, and finely deeply cut or divided with long, narrow segments. The flowers, borne singly along the stem in the leaf forks, are white with 5 petals. African rue is native to arid parts of North Africa and Mediterranean, the Middle East and across to Pakistan and India. It was introduced to New Mexico and Arizona in the early 1900s. It has been reported to be toxic to domestic ruminants in experimental feeding studies. The seeds are more toxic than the leaves.