Mandragora officinarum

Appearance

As of 2015, ''Mandragora officinarum'' has three or four different circumscriptions . The description below applies to a broad circumscription, used in a 1998 revision of the genus, in which the name is used for all the plants native to Mediterranean region. Thus defined, ''Mandragora officinarum'' is a very variable perennial herbaceous plant with a long thick root, often branched. It has almost no stem, the leaves being borne in a basal rosette. The leaves are very variable in size and shape, with a maximum length of 45 cm . They are usually either elliptical in shape or wider towards the end , with varying degrees of hairiness.

The flowers appear from autumn to spring . They are borne in the axils of the leaves. The flower stalks are also very variable in length, up to 45 cm long. The five sepals are 6–28 mm long, fused together at the base and then forming free lobes to about a half to two-thirds of their total length. The five petals are greenish white to pale blue or violet in colour, 12–65 mm long, and, like the sepals, joined together at the base with free lobes at the end. The lobes are between half as long as the petals to almost as long. The five stamens are joined to the bases of the petals and vary in length from 7 to 15 mm . The anthers of the stamens are usually yellow or brown, but are sometimes pale blue.

The fruit which forms in late autumn to early summer is a berry, shaped like a globe or an ellipsoid , with a very variable diameter of 5–40 mm . When ripe, the fruit is glossy, and yellow to orange – somewhat resembling a small tomato. It contains yellow to light brown seeds, 2.5–6 mm long.

Earlier, a different circumscription was used, in which ''Mandragora officinarum'' referred only to plants found in northern Italy and part of the coast of former Yugoslavia, most Mediterranean mandrakes being placed in ''Mandragora autumnalis''. The description above would then apply to both species combined, with ''M. officinarum'' having greenish-white rather than violet petals, up to 25 mm long rather than usually 30–40 mm or longer, and a berry that is globose rather than ellipsoid. More recently, plants native to the Levant have been separated out as ''Mandragora autumnalis'', leaving those found in the rest of the Mediterranean area as ''M. officinarum''. One difference then is that the size of the seeds of ''M. officinarum'' is less than half the size of those of ''M. autumnalis''.

Distribution

In the circumscription in which ''Mandragora officinarum'' is the only Mediterranean species, it is native to regions around the Mediterranean Sea, within the borders of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in north Africa; southern Spain, southern Portugal, Italy included Sardinia and Sicily, , former Yugoslavia, Greece and Cyprus in southern Europe; southern Turkey; Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan in the Levant. It is usually found in open habitats, such as light woodland and disturbed sites, including olive groves, fallow land, waysides, railway embankments and ruins, from sea level to 1,200 m .

When ''Mandragora autumnalis'' is regarded as the main Mediterranean species, ''M. officinarum'' is native only to north Italy and part of the coast of former Yugoslavia. Alternatively, ''M. officinarum'' is absent from the Levant, where it is replaced by ''M. autumnalis''.

Habitat

In the circumscription in which ''Mandragora officinarum'' is the only Mediterranean species, it is native to regions around the Mediterranean Sea, within the borders of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in north Africa; southern Spain, southern Portugal, Italy included Sardinia and Sicily, , former Yugoslavia, Greece and Cyprus in southern Europe; southern Turkey; Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan in the Levant. It is usually found in open habitats, such as light woodland and disturbed sites, including olive groves, fallow land, waysides, railway embankments and ruins, from sea level to 1,200 m .

When ''Mandragora autumnalis'' is regarded as the main Mediterranean species, ''M. officinarum'' is native only to north Italy and part of the coast of former Yugoslavia. Alternatively, ''M. officinarum'' is absent from the Levant, where it is replaced by ''M. autumnalis''.

Defense

All species of ''Mandragora'' contain highly biologically active alkaloids, tropane alkaloids in particular. Hanuš et al. reviewed the phytochemistry of ''Mandragora'' species. More than 80 substances have been identified; their paper gives the detailed chemical structure of 37 of them. Jackson and Berry were unable to find any differences in alkaloid composition between ''Mandragora officinarum'' and ''Mandragora autumnalis'' . Alkaloids present in the fresh plant or the dried root included atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine , scopine, cuscohygrine, apoatropine, 3-alpha-tigloyloxytropane, 3-alpha,6-beta-ditigloyloxytropane and belladonnines. Non-alkaloid constituents included sitosterol and beta-methylesculetin .

The alkaloids make the plant, in particular the root and leaves, poisonous, via anticholinergic, hallucinogenic, and hypnotic effects. Anticholinergic properties can lead to asphyxiation. Ingesting mandrake root is likely to have other adverse effects such as vomiting and diarrhea. The alkaloid concentration varies between plant samples, and accidental poisoning is likely to occur. Clinical reports of the effects of consumption of ''Mandragora officinarum'' include severe symptoms similar to those of atropine poisoning, including blurred vision, dilation of the pupils , dryness of the mouth, difficulty in urinating, dizziness, headache, vomiting, blushing and a rapid heart rate . Hyperactivity and hallucinations also occurred in the majority of patients.