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Mandragora autumnalis
Also called Autumn Mandrake, Love Apple, Mediterranean Mandrake
Mandragora autumnalis, known as mandrake or autumn mandrake, is recognized by some sources as a separate species from Mandragora officinarum, although with different circumscriptions. Others regard it as merely part of this very variable species. Plants given the name Mandragora autumnalis consist of a rosette of leaves up to 60 cm (2 ft) across, close to the ground, with a central group of usually purplish flowers followed by yellow or orange berries. The large tap-roots as well as the leaves contain alkaloids and are toxic. They have traditional uses as herbal medicines.
All species of Mandragora contain highly biologically active alkaloids, tropane alkaloids in particular. Jackson and Berry were unable to find any differences in the composition of these chemicals between Mandragora autumnalis and Mandragora officinarum (using the broader definition of M. autumnalis). Alkaloids present included hyoscyamine, hyoscine, cuscohygrine, apoatropine, 3-alpha-tigloyloxytropane, 3-alpha,6-beta-ditigloyloxytropane and belladonnine. Non-alkaloid constituents included sitosterol and beta-methylesculetin (scopoletin).
The alkaloids make the plant, particularly the root and leaves, poisonous. Clinical reports of the effects of consumption of Mandragora autumnalis include severe symptoms similar to those of atropine poisoning, including blurred vision, dilation of the pupils (mydriasis), dryness of the mouth, difficulty in urinating, dizziness, headache, vomiting, blushing and a rapid heart rate (tachycardia). Hyperactivity and hallucinations also occurred in the majority of patients.
In one treatment, Mandragora autumnalis is the main species of Mandragora found all around the Mediterranean, in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, southern Portugal, southern Spain, southern Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, being absent in northern Italy and a region on the coast of former Yugoslavia, where it is replaced by M. officinarum. In another treatment, Mandragora autumnalis is native only to the Levant (from Syria south to Israel and Palestine), the species found elsewhere around the Mediterranean being M. officinarum.
Himalayan Mandrake · Mandrake · Turkmenian Mandrake · Mandrake
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mandragora autumnalis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
