Mandrake

[honeybee]

I'm interested in the folklore behind this plant (made a bit more well known by Harry Potter!)
Has anyone ever found one? Would anyone dig one up?!

[Tiggrx]

I have seen Autumn Mandrake (Mandragora autumnalis) in Greece & Cyprus. They are not native to Britain though occasionally grown in Botanic Gardens etc. - I have seen Spring Mandrake (Mandragora officinalis) planted at Wisley Gardens.

The native White Bryony is also sometimes known as Mandrake and were formerly used as a substitute. I once talked to an old man in Buckinghamshire who remembered Bryony roots being displayed in chemist windows as Mandrakes.

[Jonny]

Mandrakes roots bizarre human shape has earned it a worldwide reputation for magical powers. In its native Palestine and neighbouring Arab countries it was long thought to be an aphrodisiac and also had a reputation for increasing fertility. Later it was used as a narcotic and an anaesthetic for crucified criminals. Here too, it was named Satans apple and thought to cause madness.
Quoted from The Complete New Herbal by Richard Mabey........

[honeybee]

I've got an old herbal book somewhere and it can be used as a sedative but the root is supposed to have the shape of a man and scream when it's up-rooted. Anyone who hears it is supposed to die

[Tormentil]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I've got an old herbal book somewhere and it can be used as a sedative

If you're hit hard enough with it.

[henrya]

Quote
I've got an old herbal book somewhere and it can be used as a sedative but the root is supposed to have the shape of a man and scream when it's up-rooted. Anyone who hears it is supposed to die
Endquote

That's right. You were supposed to tie your dog to the mandrake, run away and then call the dog. The dog would pull up the plant and keel over, but you wouldn't hear the scream (as long as you'd gone far enough away). Tough on the dog, though, and why you couldn't just block your ears up, I don't know. And it assumes you can get far enough away so you don't hear the scream and still shout loud enough for the dog to hear. Still, mustn't let common sense get in the way of a nice folk tale!

henrya

[Owl-Light]

Our ancesteros had a closer relationship with plants and the folklore surrounding them always interests me too. Some based on fact, some imgaination but always interesting. Here is a little link on Mandrake I found after a google search that might interest you link. Loads of info but I know nothing about the site itself.

I've never come across it in the wild myself.

[Owl-Light]

Love your sig henrya