Madrak Plant

It is called mandrake because the large taproot can appear to look like the human form. To some, the roots resemble either the male or the female body. The medieval mind believed in the “Doctrine of Signatures,” a belief system where herbs that resembled certain parts of the body (e.g. liverwort, toothroot) are used to cure ailments of that part of the body. There are references in Genesis and the Song of Solomon where the scent of mandrake’s yellow fruits are described as having aphrodisiac properties. It is no wonder then, that mandrake came to be considered the Viagra of the middle world!

Mandrake contains the powerful tropane alkaloids scopolamine, hyoscyamine, atropine, and mandragorine, which have an intense affect on the central nervous system. It was used as a soporific (sleep inducing) and pain-killing plant for many hundreds of years. Mandrake is a powerful narcotic, emetic, sedative, and hallucinogen; its poisons can easily lead to death.

[Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany]