Mandrake is a real plant, a low-growing Old World member of the nightshade family, the same family as tomatoes, potatoes and deadly nightshade. Its reputation for danger is earned: it carries nerve-blocking poisons strong enough to put people in intensive care.1Real JardÃn Botánico. Mandrake – The Scream of Death
What the Mandrake Plant Looks Like and Where It Grows
Mandrake is the plant group Mandragora, a branch of the nightshade family that grows wild only in Europe, Asia and northern Africa.2PubMed. Evolutionary history and biogeography of Mandragora L. (Solanaceae) There are several species, from the Mediterranean mandrake to rare ones in Central Asia and on the Tibetan Plateau.3PubMed. Evolutionary history and biogeography of Mandragora L. (Solanaceae) One Central Asian species, the Turkmen mandrake, is endangered.4Systematics and Biodiversity. Mandragora turcomanica(Solanaceae) in Iran: A new distribution record for an endangered species
Mandrakes are stemless perennials. Their leaves spread in a flat rosette close to the ground.5USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake Flowers rise in a cluster from the center, anywhere from yellow-green to bluish-purple depending on the species.6USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake The sweet-smelling fruits look like small yellow apples.7USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake The sweet-smelling fruit can tempt children, but it is not a safe food and is poisonous like the rest of the plant. Underneath sits a thick taproot that can reach about two feet long.8USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake It often forks into leg-like shapes, which is where the human-figure legend comes from.
The plant changes a lot over the year. The Mediterranean mandrake usually sends up leaves in autumn or winter and flowers early in the year. The fruits ripen after flowering and sit nestled in the leaf rosette. In summer heat the leaves can die back, leaving the root dormant underground, so a plant you saw in spring may seem to vanish by midsummer.
Only some roots fork into a vaguely human shape; many are just a plain carrot-like taproot. The tidy little man in old drawings was often exaggerated, and root sellers sometimes carved other roots, such as bryony, to look more human.
In North America the true plant appears only where someone planted it, such as a collector’s garden or a pot. A plant found wild in a woodland there is something else, which a later section covers.
Why Mandrake Is Poisonous
Mandrake contains a group of related poisons, chiefly scopolamine, hyoscyamine and atropine.9Real JardÃn Botánico. Mandrake – The Scream of Death These block a chemical messenger that nerves use to signal muscles, glands and the brain.10herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk. Mandrake Because the messenger works in so many places, mandrake’s poisons act on both the brain and the body’s automatic functions, like heart rate, saliva and digestion.11PubMed Central. Tropane Alkaloids: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Biosynthesis and Production
The effects include altered thinking, widened pupils, sedation and pain relief.12Journal of Plant Research and Innovations. Phytochemical profile, pharmacological activities, and toxicological concerns of mandragora species: A mini review At higher doses they cause hallucinations, delusions and seizures, and they can be fatal.13Real JardÃn Botánico. Mandrake – The Scream of Death Deadly nightshade and henbane, mandrake’s relatives, share these poisons.
The three poisons are not interchangeable. Scopolamine acts most strongly on the brain, producing drowsiness, confusion and amnesia. Hyoscyamine and atropine act more on the body, such as heart rate, glands and pupils, though all three overlap.
One plant can be both medicine and poison because the effect depends almost entirely on dose, and in a wild plant the dose is unpredictable. Levels vary between roots, leaves, fruit and individual plants. Doctors use purified, measured amounts, while a home preparation gives no such control.
Touching the plant is a smaller worry, but not zero. These compounds were historically absorbed through the skin in ointments, so heavy contact is not risk-free. Wear gloves when handling roots and wash your hands before touching your eyes, since rubbing sap near the eye can widen the pupil and blur vision.
Signs of Mandrake Poisoning
In one report, two adults who ate mandrake developed nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, headache, dry mouth, vomiting and unsteady walking.14PubMed Central. A two cases clinical report of mandragora poisoning in primary care in Crete, Greece: two case report Their hearts raced to 170 to 190 beats a minute, about double a normal resting rate.15PubMed Central. A two cases clinical report of mandragora poisoning in primary care in Crete, Greece: two case report Their skin was flushed and their pupils widened.16PubMed Central. A two cases clinical report of mandragora poisoning in primary care in Crete, Greece: two case report Both spent a week in intensive care because of the abnormal fast heart rhythm.17PubMed Central. A two cases clinical report of mandragora poisoning in primary care in Crete, Greece: two case report
Doctors recognize a classic pattern: hot, dry, flushed skin with little or no sweating, big pupils and blurry close-up vision, confusion or agitation or seeing things that aren’t there, a racing heart and trouble urinating. Symptoms can start within an hour and last a day or more.
Not every sign appears in every case, though. Some people show mostly body symptoms and others mostly confusion, so a missing sign does not rule out poisoning.
Delirium can make the person talk to people who are not there, pick at the air, or become scared and combative. They may not recognize family or know where they are, and they usually remember little afterward. Since they cannot judge their own state, a bystander has to recognize the danger and call for help.
Some people are at higher risk. Children are hurt by smaller amounts because of lower body weight. Older adults and people with heart problems handle a racing heart poorly. And people experimenting with mandrake as a “natural high” risk delirium and injury.
What to Do If Someone Eats Mandrake
Call emergency services or a poison center right away, even if symptoms seem mild. Bring a piece of the plant or a photo so staff can identify it. Tell them what plant it was, which part, how much might have been eaten and roughly when. Add the person’s age, weight and current symptoms, and mention any heart condition or medicines they take. Staff use this to judge how serious the case is, so give your best estimate rather than waiting to be sure.
Hospital treatment centers on supporting breathing and the heart, clearing the poison, and treating symptoms.18European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Six clinical cases of Mandragora autumnalis poisoning: diagnosis and treatment Because these poisons slow the gut, activated charcoal can still help several hours after eating.19European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Six clinical cases of Mandragora autumnalis poisoning: diagnosis and treatment A sedative such as diazepam calms agitation and seizures and often slows the heart.20European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Six clinical cases of Mandragora autumnalis poisoning: diagnosis and treatment In severe cases, doctors may give physostigmine, an antidote that can quickly reverse the confusion.21European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Six clinical cases of Mandragora autumnalis poisoning: diagnosis and treatment
A few home mistakes make things worse. Don’t wait to see if symptoms pass, because heart effects can worsen. Don’t try to induce vomiting unless a poison center tells you to. And don’t leave a confused person alone, since delirium can cause falls or wandering.
Most people treated promptly recover fully. Heart monitoring may last days, as in the reported cases, and confusion can linger after the heart settles.
How People Get Poisoned by Accident
Young mandrake leaves can be mistaken for borage or spinach by inexperienced foragers.22PubMed. The problem of misidentification between edible and poisonous wild plants: Reports from the Mediterranean area Several poisonings from this mistake have been reported in Italy in the last twenty years.23PubMed. The problem of misidentification between edible and poisonous wild plants: Reports from the Mediterranean area Cooking does not make the poisons safe, so a dish made with the wrong leaves is still dangerous.
Never eat wild greens you can’t identify with certainty. Look for the flat, ground-hugging rosette and the apple-like fruit. If you grow mandrake, keep it far from vegetable beds and label it.
For children and pets, fence or pot plants out of reach and pick up fallen fruit. A pet that chews roots or fruit needs a vet promptly.
American Mandrake Is a Different Plant
Mayapple, also called American or wild mandrake, is a North American woodland plant.24Wikipedia. Podophyllum peltatum It belongs to the barberry family and is unrelated to true mandrake.25USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake Early settlers saw a woodland plant with a forked, fleshy root and named it after the mandrake they knew from Europe. A plant labeled “mandrake” in a North American field guide or folk remedy is almost certainly mayapple.
Mayapple has one or two umbrella-like leaves on a stem, while true mandrake has a stemless rosette. Mayapple also bears a single white flower under the leaves. Neither plant’s root should ever be eaten.
Mayapple has its own poison, podophyllin, which burns the digestive tract, and overdoses can be fatal.26North Carolina State University Herbarium. Poisonous Plants of North Carolina The root is most toxic and green fruit is harmful, though fully ripe yellow fruit is edible.27North Carolina State University Herbarium. Poisonous Plants of North Carolina An extract is used to treat warts.28USDA Forest Service. The Powerful Solanaceae: Mandrake That is only in prepared, measured form, and it is not a home remedy.
The poisonings look different too. Mayapple’s main damage is irritation of the digestive tract, with vomiting and diarrhea, rather than the dry, flushed, delirious picture of true mandrake. Doctors need to know which plant was involved.
Why Mandrake Has Such a Fearsome Reputation
Because the root looks like a human figure, people believed it was half-demon and screamed when pulled up, killing those who heard it.29PubMed Central. In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names So diggers tied it to a dog and covered their ears.30PubMed Central. In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names The animal, not the human, was the one to die when the root came free.
The real effects were just as striking. Ancient Romans used mandrake to sedate patients and ease pain in surgery.31PubMed. Mandragora: Anesthetic of the Ancients The root was boiled down in wine into a strong tincture.32societyancientmedicine.org. Pain Management in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean It likely worked more as a sedative, like opium, than as true anesthesia.33societyancientmedicine.org. Pain Management in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean The patient became drowsy, dull to pain and sometimes unconscious. Too much could stop breathing or cause delirium, so the dose was a gamble in an era without measured drugs.
Mandrake also appeared in “flying ointments” rubbed on the skin, causing hallucinations including a feeling of flight.34Wikipedia. Flying ointment The chemicals soaked in, and the result could be vivid floating sensations and confusion that left people believing they had traveled. Accounts of witches flying may reflect such experiences, though the historical record is partial and often written by accusers. Purified hyoscyamine and scopolamine are still used today for gut spasms, nerve pain and Parkinson’s tremors.35Real JardÃn Botánico. Mandrake – The Scream of Death
Is It Legal to Grow Mandrake
Mandrake is generally legal to grow and buy in the US, Canada and the UK.36leafie. Exploring ancient psychedelics – Mandrake The exception is Louisiana, which bans psychoactive plants, including mandrake.37leafie. Exploring ancient psychedelics – Mandrake Check local rules, and never grow it to consume. Legal does not mean safe: a plant sold as an ornamental may come with little or no warning.
Before buying, look up your state, province or local rules, since regulations on plants with psychoactive effects can differ from national ones. Buy from a reputable nursery that names the species, because a vague “mandrake” could be a different plant entirely. Mandrake needs a deep pot for its long taproot and well-drained soil.