The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dwale \Dwale\, n. [OE. dwale, dwole, deception, deadly nightshade, AS. dwala, dwola, error, doubt; akin to E. dull. See Dull, a.]
(Bot.) The deadly nightshade ( Atropa Belladonna), having stupefying qualities.
(Her.) The tincture sable or black when blazoned according to the fantastic system in which plants are substituted for the tinctures.
A sleeping potion; an opiate.
--Chaucer.
Death's-herb \Death's"-herb`\, n.
The deadly nightshade ( Atropa belladonna).
--Dr. Prior.
Belladonna \Bel`la*don"na\, n. [It., literally fine lady; bella beautiful + donna lady.] (Bot.)
An herbaceous European plant ( Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade.
A species of Amaryllis ( Amaryllis belladonna); the belladonna lily.
Atropine \At"ro*pine\, n. [Gr. ? inflexible; hence ? ?, one of the three Parc[ae]; 'a priv. + ? to turn.] (Chem.) A poisonous, white, crystallizable alkaloid, extracted from the Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, and the Datura Stramonium, or thorn apple. It is remarkable for its power in dilating the pupil of the eye. Called also daturine.
Atropa \Atropa\ n. a genus of plants of the nightshade family, including the belladonna ( Atropa belladonna).
Syn: genus Atropa.
Wikipedia
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant ( rhizomatous hemicryptophyte) in the tomato family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. Its distribution extends from Great Britain in the west to western Ukraine and the Iranian province of Gilan in the east. It is also naturalised and/or introduced in some parts of Canada and the United States. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations, and are also used as pharmaceutical anticholinergics.
It has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Before the Middle Ages, it was used as an anesthetic for surgery; the ancient Romans used it as a poison (the wife of Emperor Augustus and the wife of Claudius both were rumored to have used it for murder); and, predating this, it was used to make poison-tipped arrows. The genus name Atropa comes from Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology, and the name "bella donna" is derived from Italian and means "pretty woman" because the herb was used in eye-drops by women to dilate the pupils of the eyes to make them appear seductive.
Usage examples of "atropa belladonna".
The gi-i-wa puffball of the Mixtecs, the sacred mushroom known as teonancatl (divine flesh) by the Aztecs, the tree fungus of the Yurimagua of Peru, the hex potion ayahuasca distilled by the Zaparo from the banisteriopsis vine as described by Villavicencio (1858) - all can be said to produce alkaloid exudates similar, chemically, to that obtained from Atropa belladonna.