is a kind of darnel, the commonest of the four species, being the bearded, growing in the grain fields, as tall as wheat and barley, and resembling wheat in appearance. It was credited among the Jews with being degenerate wheat. The rabbis called it "bastard." The seeds are poisonous to man and herbivorous animals, producing sleepiness, nausea, convulsions and even death (they are harmless to poultry). The plants can be separated out, but the custom, as in the parable, is to leave the cleaning out till near the time of harvest, Matthew 13:25-27,29,30,36,38,40 . The Lord describes the tares as "the sons of the evil one;" false teachings are indissociable from their propagandists. For the Lord's reference to the Kingdom see KINGDOM.