Friday, August 24, 2012
Downy thorn apple (Datura metel) growing in a bed in Bonnefont garden devoted to plants used in medieval magic. The common name “thorn apple,” shared with other members of the genus, is derived from the character of the spiny seed capsule. Above: D. metel in bud (left) and bloom (right). This handsome, heat-loving plant flowers profusely from late July until October. Below: Semi-ripe capsule of the downy thorn apple, broken open to show the developing seeds.
The beautiful but sinister thorn apple (Datura metel) is a powerfully hallucinogenic plant employed in medieval magic as well as medicine.
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Tags: alkaloid, Datura, Datura metel, Datura stramonium, Jimson weed, Solanaceae, thorn apple, thornapple
Posted in Gardening at The Cloisters, Magical Plants, Medicinal Plants | Comments (3)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Above, left to right: Woody nightshade in fruit and flower; Mandrake in fruit; Henbane flower.
Among the plants??associated with witchcraft in antiquity and the Middle Ages??are a number of??poisonous and narcotic??species that are chemically related to one another, including the mandrakes (Mandragora officinarum and M. autumnalis), henbane, (Hyoscyamus niger), thorn apple (Datura metel) and deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna).??All are members of??the nightshade family, the Solanaceae. Read more »
Tags: flying ointment, henbane, Hysocyamus niger, magical plant, Mandragora, mandrake, medicinal plant, nightshade, Solanaceae, Solanum dulcamara
Posted in Magical Plants, Medicinal Plants | Comments (5)
