Like edible plants such as spinach and borage, the mandrake is a wild plant and similar to those mentioned, but this one is highly toxic. It causes abdominal pain, vomiting, tachycardia and hallucinations. In the most severe cases of poisoning it can also lead to coma and have lethal outcomes.
La mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is a plant belonging to the Solanaceae family. For its toxic and hallucinogenic properties, accompanied by the curious shape of the typically anthropomorphic root in spring, in the past It was considered "magical" and endowed with supernatural powers in many popular traditions. In Italy the mandrake (also known as mandragola) grows spontaneously. For those who are not experts, it can be easily confused with edible plants such as borage and spinach, with which it shares similarities in appearance. It is no coincidence that it ended in several cases due to intoxication.
What is madrágora
The mandrake, a plant belonging to the group of dicotyledonous angiosperms, blooms in autumn and has characteristic pale blue flowers. The leaves, small and with barely perceptible fluff, are elongated and tend to be oval in shape. Its fruits, fleshy berries, are yellowish. However, the distinctive feature is the root, typically forked, which in certain specimens and especially in the spring period shows anthropomorphic evidence. This detail, associated with its properties, has made it the "witches' favorite" plant, ending up at the center of numerous esoteric rites and many other popular beliefs.
Why is it poisonous?
Like other plants belonging to the nightshade family, mandrake is rich in alkaloids that make it poisonous and inedible. Among the toxic substances present in the plant we find atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine, However, in adequate concentrations, they also have medicinal properties. It is no coincidence that the same mandrake in ancient times was used as a powerful pain reliever, as well as to facilitate sleep and sexual vigor (aphrodisiac powers were associated with it). Actually, the properties of the active principles are mainly narcotic, analgesic and sedative. However, excessive toxicity precludes its use in herbal medicine, although expert homeopaths can develop mandrake-based dilutions.
Pain and hallucinations: what happens?
Toxicity is not the same in all parts of the plant and the greatest is found in its peculiar root. The effects, which can also lead to coma and death in case of severe intoxication, are generally gastrointestinal pain, tachycardia, vomiting, high blood pressure, and seizures. If toxic doses exceed a certain threshold, hallucinations, amnesia, and sexual arousal (hence the 'aphrodisiac' power) can occur, similar to various drugs. Hallucinations can be both visual and auditory and are accompanied by severe stomach cramps.
intoxication news
the mandrake has ended up at the center of several news cases because it is exchanged with edible plants such as borage, also spontaneous, and spinach. The reason lies in the similarity between the plants, which however have some differences in the eyes of an expert (for example, the shape of the leaves and the amount of fluff). This is for example the case of a family that ended up in the hospital after eating frozen vegetables, it is possible that the mandrake grew spontaneously in the field and was harvested, killing the spinach.
Mythology
In Greek culture there is a certain relationship between the mandrake, the dog and the goddess Hecate. The reign of this dark deity of the underworld is identified precisely with cemeteries. A group of mythological and folk tales present in European, Arab and Asian cultures can be traced back to a different original myth. From these stories emerges a theme situated in the time of the origins of man, in which man himself originates from the mandrake, exploiting the anthropomorphic image from the root.
In the stories we can read how "The first men would have been a family of gigantic sensitive mandrakes that the sun would have animated and that, alone, would have detached themselves from the earth". Or, what "man originally appeared on earth in the form of monstrous mandrakes, animated by an instinctive life, and the breath of the Most High forced them, transmuted them, mistreated them and finally uprooted them, to turn them into beings endowed with thought and their own movements. […] From this we could deduce that the mandrake is linked to a myth of the origin of man”.
Although it is not a myth of the origin of the mandrake, it is interesting to note how, in these cosmogonies, the origin of the plant is believed to be older than that of man.
As we can see, no real and well-structured myth about the origin of the mandrake has survived. Only a few isolated traces, which have been altered each time, have had any success in popular belief and in fables. The fact is that this poisonous plant was considered primordial and it is not yet known whether it arose before or at the beginning of humanity.
Other beliefs
The large root and the fruits were the parts of the plant that were used for medicinal and psychoactive effects. Since ancient times, the shape of the root has been used to recognize the features of a man or a woman. This anthropomorphic identification has been a source of inspiration in the mythology, beliefs and rituals related to this plant.
Various sources from medieval times relate to the belief that when a person sentenced to death is hanged, the moment he dies, its seminal fluid or urine, falling to the ground, gives rise to the mandrake. This topic is usually followed by a description of the procedure for harvesting the plant. It was believed, in fact, that anyone who tried to eradicate it, but also anyone who accidentally bumped into it or walked too close to it, would die. The belief also says that if a dog that is black or practically black is tied, either by the tail or by the neck, to the root of the plant, it will uproot it and even if the dog is sacrificed, the plant can then be used. .
In the transformation of the myth into a popular belief, the reason for the unjust sentence disappears and the analogy refers to everyone hanged.
Mandragora and its relationship with death
The relationship between the mandrake and death it is present in other beliefs. Often the presence of the plant is associated with the places where corpses are buried, such as around cemeteries.
The mandrake has also been identified with the enigmatic molybdenum grass of Homer. In the story, inserted in the tenth book of the Odyssey, it is the god Hermes, the "messenger of the gods", who delivers the magic herb to Odysseus. The objective was to use it as protection against the filter of the sorceress Circe, capable of transforming men into pigs. In the story, the molybdenum herb performs an opposite action to that of classic magical herbs: it prevents transformation into an animal, instead of inducing it.
Literature
The mandrake is also known in Jewish culture and is present in the Old Testament. It is mentioned in a story with rather "pagan" connotations, in which the plant is used as a medium of exchange for its aphrodisiac and fertilizing properties. In fact, this plant has been considered, almost everywhere, as a wonderful aphrodisiac. It is not for nothing that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, had the nickname of Mandragoritis.
Legends and Harry Potter
The best-known legend linked to the mandrake is that of the 'killer' cry from its root when it is uprooted, and it is linked precisely to its anthropomorphic form. To harvest it safely, according to popular tradition also cited by Machiavelli, the plant must be tied to a dog to uproot it. This procedure would condemn the animal, but would guarantee the collection in 'safety'. The cry of the mandrake was also the protagonist in the Harry Potter fantasy saga, in the chapter Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.