Įarlier, a different circumscription was used, in which Mandragora officinarum referred only to plants found in northern Italy and part of the coast of former Yugoslavia, most Mediterranean mandrakes being placed in Mandragora autumnalis. It contains yellow to light brown seeds, 2.5–6 mm (0.10–0.24 in) long. When ripe, the fruit is glossy, and yellow to orange – somewhat resembling a small tomato. longer than wide), with a very variable diameter of 5–40 mm (0.2–1.6 in). The fruit which forms in late autumn to early summer (November to June) is a berry, shaped like a globe or an ellipsoid (i.e. The anthers of the stamens are usually yellow or brown, but are sometimes pale blue. The five stamens are joined to the bases of the petals and vary in length from 7 to 15 mm (0.3 to 0.6 in). The lobes are between half as long as the petals to almost as long.
ACTUAL MANDRAKE ROOT FREE
The five petals are greenish white to pale blue or violet in colour, 12–65 mm (0.5–2.6 in) long, and, like the sepals, joined together at the base with free lobes at the end. The five sepals are 6–28 mm (0.2–1.1 in) long, fused together at the base and then forming free lobes to about a half to two-thirds of their total length. The flower stalks ( pedicels) are also very variable in length, up to 45 cm (18 in) long. They are borne in the axils of the leaves. The flowers appear from autumn to spring (September to April). They are usually either elliptical in shape or wider towards the end (obovate), with varying degrees of hairiness. The leaves are very variable in size and shape, with a maximum length of 45 cm (18 in). It has almost no stem, the leaves being borne in a basal rosette.
Thus defined, Mandragora officinarum is a very variable perennial herbaceous plant with a long thick root, often branched. The description below applies to a broad circumscription, used in a 1998 revision of the genus, in which the name is used for all the plants native to Mediterranean region. Mandragora plant from Israel that some sources would place in Mandragora autumnalis rather than Mandragora officinarumĪs of 2015, Mandragora officinarum has three or four different circumscriptions (see Taxonomy below). However, the so-called "mandrakes" used in this way are not always species of Mandragora let alone Mandragora officinarum for example, Bryonia alba, the English mandrake, is explicitly mentioned in some sources. They have long been used in magic rituals, today also in contemporary Pagan practices such as Wicca and Heathenry. Whatever the circumscription, Mandragora officinarum is a perennial herbaceous plant with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers followed by yellow or orange berries.īecause mandrakes contain deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids ( atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine) which cause delirium and hallucinations, and the shape of their roots often resembles human figures, they have been associated with a variety of religious and spiritual practices throughout history. The names autumn mandrake and Mediterranean mandrake are then used. In a broader circumscription, all the plants native to the regions around the Mediterranean Sea are placed in M. officinarum, which thus includes M. autumnalis. The main species found around the Mediterranean is called Mandragora autumnalis, the autumn mandrake. As of 2015, sources differed significantly in the species they use for Mandragora plants native to the Mediterranean region. It is often known as mandrake, although this name is also used for other plants. Mandragora officinarum is the type species of the plant genus Mandragora in the nightshade family Solanaceae. (Based on a broad circumscription of M. officinarum)
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