​I confess, I’m fascinated by the plant world’s criminal elements. There’s something so cold about poison. It seems exotic and foreign, yet many of these dark villains are growing in our own back yards, pastures and roadsides, or included in everyday remedies. 

 “Root of the hemlock, digged in the dark” ~ from the 3 witches of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Let me back into this one and talk about Queen Anne’s Lace first, which everyone has probably seen. It’s also known as Wild Carrot, and is the original carrot from which modern cultivars were developed. It’s edible with a light carrot flavor, and is great in salads.
The problem is, it is closely related to, and looks almost exactly like Poison Hemlock. Hemlock flourishes in ditches and pastures across the country. There have been about a hundred cases of hemlock fatalities in the United States, although experts believe the actual number is probably much higher. The victims usually don’t survive to report what they ate. It also poses a threat to pets and livestock. A single root is toxic enough to kill a sixteen-hundred-pound cow. 

The lacy flowers have unusually thick stems; they’re so large and sturdy that they are sometimes picked as cut flowers, or kids use the hollow stems as whistles or blow darts. These are dangerous ideas; even a small amount of toxic juice on the hands can find its way to your bloodstream.

So, if you’re tempted to pick some Queen Anne’s Lace for a wildflower bouquet, or throw some wild carrot into your salad, here’s how to tell the difference (if you dare): Queen Anne’s Lace has a hairy stem, while the stems of Hemlock are smooth, hairless, and hollow with purple spots.

Magically, Hemlock is last of the poison world’s “Three Sisters” used in witch’s flying ointment. It’s said to have the power to conjure up demons. 

Mandrake (Atropa mandragora)

If you’re interested in a plant that looks like a person, has visible sex organs, is an aphrodisiac of the first order, has mind-altering alkaloids such as hyoscyamine, and has been known to cure depression and insomnia, then Atropa mandragora is the plant for you. But be careful.
Mandrake may not be the worst thug in the nightshade family, but it has a reputation. ​Above-ground it’s an unimposing little plant with a foot-tall rosette of leaves, pale green, white or purplish flowers, and mildly poisonous fruits that resemble unripe tomatoes. While the fruit is attractive and good-tasting, the subterranean part of the plant is where the magic occurs. 

The mandrake has an extraordinary place in the history of plants. It’s medicinal. Herbal. Magical. And folkloric.

It’s medicinal because the root contains an alkaloid that belongs to the atropine group. It’s a powerful narcotic and analgesic, and, in larger doses, an anesthetic.

It’s magical because of the bizarre shape of the root, which looks like a human being, sometimes male, sometimes female. It’s both an aphrodisiac and a strong hallucinogen. Put those two things together to create the most mind-bending sex you’ve ever had. In the book of Genesis, the barren Rachel eats the root and becomes pregnant with Joseph.

Folks love to experiment with the mandrake. The problem, of course, is it’s poisonous in the wrong doses, and people often end up sick or worse. They forget that the mandrake is in the family Solanaceae, same as the deadly nightshade.

 Mandrake’s long pointed root can grow three to four feel long, and forked. The Romans believed mandrake could cure demonic possessions, and the Greeks, thinking it resembled a male sex organ, used it in love potions. It was also widely believed that the mandrake shrieked when it was pulled from the ground—remember Harry Potter? In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s friar gives Juliet a mandrake-laced sleeping potion, making Romeo think she is dead.

Some consider mandrake to be the personification of Aphrodite because of its use as an aphrodisiac. Often depicted holding an apple, Aphrodite may actually have been holding a mandrake fruit, especially in images where she is holding a poppy in one hand and a small fruit in the other (since both the flower and the fruit bring sleep).

It’s also common to ascribe the mandrake to Hecate, perhaps because a black dog, another of her symbols, was often sacrificed in the harvesting of mandrakes.

I haven’t decided whether to grow mandrake in my garden, it’s really difficult and takes more patience than most mortals possess. But if you buy a root and would like to preserve it, read Harold Roth’s book, Witching Herbs. His chapter 15 gives extremely detailed instructions on how to preserve your root for magical uses.

​Henbane (Hyoscyamous Niger)

This is the primary plant of the Goddess Hecate and the God Apollo. It was also one of the most sacred plants of the Germans and Vikings, who used it ritually for divination, in weather magic, and in finding treasure. They also used it as a mead spice. And the Germans used it for toothache by applying a poultice of crushed seeds to their pillow before going to sleep.

Hercules is sometimes depicted wearing a crown of henbane. It’s said he discovered henbane while in Hades capturing Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld. Henbane’s association with the that journey, as well as the herb’s medicinal affinity for bone issues like toothache, tied it to witchcraft, which often had need of working with the Underworld and with bones.

The dead who wandered the Underworld in Greek mythology also wore crowns of henbane. The function of their crowns was to cause them to forget their lives so they would not try to return and haunt the living. Loved ones who remained behind decorated the tombs of the dead with the plant, also to symbolically help them forget.

Henbane in the Garden
Some black henbane seeds produce an annual plant that flowers the first year and then dies; other produce a biennial that forms a rosette of leaves the first year and flowers the second. There’s no way to tell which one a seed will produce.

Germinate by putting the seeds in a small jar and filling it with cold water. Keep it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, changing the water every day. The plant in a seed medium. They will germinate in 2 weeks at room temperature. Transplant once they plant has true leaves.  Henbane likes a dry soil and on the alkaline side. A full-sun area next to a concrete wall is perfect. It can also grow in pots. With henbane, belladonna and mandrake, top-dressing plants in pots with some chick grit (finely crushed granite) helps produce bigger, healthier plants.

Be prepared for your henbane to grow to 2-3’ tall, and space them 3’ apart. The purple-veined flowers appear in summer and the flowers and pods will continue until hard frost.  Watch for Colorado potato beetles, yellow and black striped beetles, and smash them with your fingers. Also look for their babies, small dark grubs that hang on to the underside of leaves in a row, they will eat the leaves down to nothing. For them, treat with spinosad immediately.

We have now completed the Weird Sister Tour of the Witches’ Flying Ointment plants: Datura, Belladonna, Hemlock, Mandrake and Henbane. Full poisonous circle.  I am planting most of them in my poison garden next month, but don’t take this as a recommendation to follow suit—and certainly not without reading more about each, taking every precaution, and wearing gloves at all times.

Look for photos throughout the summer!

In the meantime, let’s delve into one of my favorite sabbats next week – BELTANE!
Happy gardening, and Blessed Be.

Belladonna (Atropa Belladonna), aka Deadly Nightshade, devil’s cherry)

Professor and plant researcher Henry G. Walters speculated in 1915 that plants were capable of love and that they also had memories, implying that they might also hold a grudge. The deadly nightshade, Atropa Belladonna, he believed, was filled with hatred.

Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade. Both names are so Goth the plants should have kohl-lined eyes and dance at night to loud trance music. The Atropa bit is in homage to Atropos one of the three Fates. Atropos was the one that cut the thread of life. Belladonna, from the Italian for beautiful lady, pays tribute to its use in cosmetics. Atropa Belladonna has always been the gothy siren of the apothecary which explains its presence in medicine, perfume, cosmetics, and folklore for over a millennium.  

Belladonna is an herbaceous perennial found across Europe, Asia and North America. It flourishes in damp, shady spots, growing to three feet tall with pointed, oval-shaped leaves and purplish brown tubular flowers. The flowers form berries in the fall, changing from green to red, and finally dark black. 

Ripe Belladonna berries: beautiful but deadly.

Medicinal Uses–Belladonna has been used for centuries in traditional medicine for ailments ranging from headaches, ulcers and menstrual problems to inflammation and cardiovascular disease. It has antispasmodic, sedative, and diuretic properties, and is most commonly known for its uses in ophthalmology for pupil dilation. The name "belladonna" means "beautiful lady," and belladonna berry juice was used historically in Italy to enlarge the pupils of women, giving them a striking appearance. (I, in fact, recently discovered a natural eye drop in my medicine cabinet that contains belladonna.) 

The Deadly Nightshade performs its dark magic with the help of an alkaloid called atropine, which causes rapid heartbeat, confusion, hallucinations, and seizures. The symptoms are so unpleasant that atropine has been added to potentially addictive painkillers to keep patients from getting hooked. Atropine has also been used as an antidote to poisoning from nerve gas and pesticide exposure.
Though widely regarded as unsafe, belladonna is taken by mouth as a sedative, to stop bronchial spasms in asthma and whooping cough, and as a cold and hay fever remedy. It is also used for Parkinson’s disease, colic, inflammatory bowel disease, and motion sickness.

Poison- Belladonna is part of the Solanaceae family, which includes Datura (last week’s entry), henbane, mandrake, and the spicy Habanera chili pepper. Poison effects include rapid heartbeat, confusion, feeling hot but not sweating, extreme thirst, hallucinations, spasms, mental problems, convulsions, and coma.

And the eerily attractive flowers have a mildly sweet smell. But don’t be tempted. A big whiff of belladonna’s flowers can cause an instant headache.

Each belladonna branch shoots to the opposite side of the stalk in an alternating pattern. At the end of each branch, the plant produces buds that become flowers that will bear fruits. The main stalk, rather than growing straight, bends back and forth. It’s crooked.

Viewed from above, the plant sends out branches in five equidistant directions, forming a five-pointed star. This shape is striking, but you have to look at the plant from above to see it. The same five-pointed star shape is made by the calyx around the berry. Belladonna calyces start out with their five fingers cupping the flower. They gradually fatten, toughen, and pull back into a star shape holding the fruit, gaining a blood-colored speckling in the process.

Magical Uses- Belladonna has a long association with women, witches, herb lore, and murder. It is another ingredient in the infamous Medieval witches’ flying ointment of folklore, which in some iterations contained Belladonna, Datura, Opium Poppies, Monkshood, Wolf’s Bane, and Hemlock.
Belladonna’s history in lore goes back much further, however. It was used in the worship of both Bellona (the Roman goddess of war) and Hecate (the Greek goddess of crossroads, magic, and poisonous plants) to invoke visions and prophecies.

The Deadly Nightshade’s magic is that of a Trickster. She recognizes that ambiguity is the essential nature of the witch, in a culture that craves certainty and imposes limits. She reminds us to accept the danger in life, and to keep an eye out for back-splatter in your magic, even if you strive to ‘harm none.’

Some people view Belladonna as the most problematic herb on the Poison Path that is part of the witch’s way. Even though Datura can be brutal, it does not arise out of meanness as much as from the plant’s ignorance of its own strength. The same cannot be said of belladonna. Not only does it have a lot higher alkaloid content than its weird sisters, it’s highly unpredictable. Material harvested from the same belladonna plant and used in the same quantity by the same person may not have the same effect. That makes it too dangerous to use in pharmacy. My opinion only. In fact, I’m still undecided whether I’ll include it in my garden, at least this first year. I’m posting the planting info for you below, so you can make your own decision.

In the Garden – Soak seeds for two weeks in cold water kelp “tea” in the fridge, changing the water daily. Then sow in typical planning medium, barely covering the seed. Seeds should germinate in 2-4 weeks once they’re in soil. Seeds planted at the same time can be expected to germinate sporadically over several months. Seems to germinate best in a cool environment. 

Pot the seedlings once they have formed true leaves. Then transplant to a shaded area in the spring, once danger of frost has passed. Belladonna like soil that is “sweet”—that is, chalky or calcareous, so you may add some gardening and add plenty of organic matter lime to your soil. Composed leaves are great. Set seedling 18” apart. And ALWAYS wear gloves!

Next week is the last of the three “Weird Sisters,” Henbane, Mandrake, and a few other interesting natural poisons. Then…time to celebrate Beltane!

Until then, be safe and continue to wear your mask as you begin to venture out this spring.

Happy planting!