What is "mandragora officinarum"

mandrake \man"drake\ (m[a^]n"dr[=a]k), n. [AS. mandragora, L. mandragoras, fr. Gr. mandrago`ras: cf. F. mandragore.]

1. (Bot.) A low plant ( Mandragora officinarum) of the Nightshade family, having a fleshy root, often forked, and supposed to resemble a man. It was therefore supposed to have animal life, and to cry out when pulled up. All parts of the plant are strongly narcotic. It is found in the Mediterranean region.

   And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad.
   --Shak.

   Note: The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant, but proof is wanting.

2. (Bot.) The May apple ( Podophyllum peltatum). See May apple under May, and Podophyllum. [U.S.]

Mandragora officinarum or mandrake is the type species of the plant genus Mandragora. , sources differ significantly in the species they use for Mandragora plants native to the Mediterranean region. In the narrowest circumscription, M. officinarum is limited to small areas of northern Italy and the coast of former Yugoslavia, and the main species found around the Mediterranean is called Mandragora autumnalis, the autumn mandrake. In a broader circumscription, all the plants native to the countries around the Mediterranean Sea are placed in M. officinarum, which thus includes M. autumnalis. The names autumn mandrake and Mediterranean mandrake are then used. Whatever the circumscription, Mandragora officinarum is a perennial herbaceous plant with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers followed by yellow or orange berries.

Because mandrakes contain deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids and the shape of their roots often resembles human figures, they have been associated with a variety of superstitious practices throughout history. They have long been used in magic rituals, today also in contemporary pagan traditions such as Wicca and Odinism. However, the so-called "mandrakes" used in this way are not always species of Mandragora let alone Mandragora officinarum; for example, Bryonia alba, the English mandrake, is explicitly mentioned in some sources.