Common mandrake
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Common mandrake ( Mandragora officinarum ) |
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The common mandrake ( Mandragora officinarum ), the root of which is also called mandrake root , is a species of the genus of the mandrake ( Mandragora ) in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). It has been valued as a magical plant since ancient times , so its use has a long cultural and historical tradition .
description
Appearance and foliage leaf
The common mandrake is a more or less stemless, perennial herbaceous plant . The fleshy, sturdy taproot, often split into two to three parts, has many branches. It has roots up to 40 centimeters deep.
The leaves standing together in a basal rosette are petiolate. The hairless to hairy leaf blades are of very variable size and shape, but mostly elliptical to obovate and no more than 45 centimeters long. The ratio of length to width is between 1: 1.5 and 1:10. The wavy edge of the leaf is often on the ground. The leaves are dark green in color and have a wrinkled, nerved structure.
blossom
The flowers stand individually in the leaf axils, on flower stalks that vary greatly in length, but are no more than 15 centimeters long. The hermaphroditic flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five 6 to 28 millimeter long sepals are fused on a third to half of their length. The calyx tips, which grow only a little until the fruit is ripe, are 3 to 15 millimeters long and tapering to a point. The five whitish-green to light blue or purple and 12 to 65 millimeters long petals are only fused at their base or up to half their length in a bell-shaped manner. The corolla lobes are between 6 and 60 millimeters long.
The five stamens are fused with the lower half of the crown, the stamens are 7 to 15 millimeters long and the yellow to brown, rarely light blue anthers are 2.5 to 4.0 millimeters long. The stylus is 8 to 20 millimeters long and towers over the stamens. The ovary is surrounded at its base by a glandular disc and ends in a cephalic scar.
Fruit and seeds
The single-chambered berries are spherical to ellipsoidal with a diameter of 5 to 40 millimeters. When ripe, the berries turn yellow to yellow-orange and are juicy and edible. The seeds are 2.5 to 6 millimeters long, kidney-shaped and yellow to light brown.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24 or 96.
Occurrence
The common mandrake occurs wild in the entire Mediterranean area from Portugal to Greece and Turkey, in North Africa and in the Middle East. It thrives in the wasteland and prefers dry, sunny to partially shaded locations on light sandy soil , for example on paths, in olive groves or ruins.
Systematics
The first publication of Mandragora officinarum was in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum . The earlier delimitation of the autumn mandrake as a separate species Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. is rejected after cladistic investigations on a morphological basis, it is only a synonym of the common mandrake ( Mandragora officinarum ). Other important synonyms of the diverse species are Mandragora vernalis Bertol. and Mandragora haussknechtii Heldr.
use
Main article: Mandrake (cultural history)
The mandrake - also "the mandrake" - contains parts of the parasympatholytic alkaloids hyoscyamine and scopolamine . It was previously used as an aphrodisiac , narcotic and pain reliever , sometimes as a hallucinogenic drug , but also served as a magic root .
Poisoning leads to anticholinergic syndrome , symptoms include reddening of the skin, dry mouth, restlessness, drowsiness and / or hallucinations, confusion, dilation of the pupils, cardiac arrhythmias, as well as comatose conditions and unconsciousness up to death from respiratory paralysis.
Legal position
Several substances contained in mandrake are subject to the German Medicines Act (AMG) . Production and sale require approval.
Sources and literature
- Stefan Ungricht, Sandra Knapp, John R. Press: A revision of the genus Mandragora (Solanaceae). In: Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Botany series. Volume 28, No. 1, 1998, pp. 17-40, online.
- Hüseyin Fakir, Hasan Özçelik: Mandragora officinarum L. (Solanaceae): A new record for the flora of Turkey. In: African Journal of Biotechnology. Volume 8, No. 15, 2009, pp. 3560-3564, PDF file. (Section Description and Distribution)
- Jürgen Müller : Pharmaca diabolica and Pocula amatoria. On the cultural history of the Solanaceae alkaloids atropine and scopolamine. In: Würzburger medical historical research 17, 1998, pp. 361–373.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ruprecht Düll, Irene Düll: Pocket dictionary of the Mediterranean flora. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2007, ISBN 978-3-494-01426-5 , pp. 208f.
- ^ Stefan Ungricht, Sandra Knapp, John R. Press: A revision of the genus Mandragora (Solanaceae). In: Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Botany series. Volume 28, No. 1, 1998, p. 30, online.
- ↑ Mandragora autumnalis at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum. Volume 1, Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae 1753, p. 181 digitized
- ↑ a b Stefan Ungricht, Sandra Knapp, John R. Press: A revision of the genus Mandragora (Solanaceae). In: Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Botany series. Volume 28, No. 1, 1998, pp. 17-40, va 30-33, online.
- ↑ Andreas Alberts, Peter Mullen: Psychoactive plants, mushrooms and animals. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10749-3 .
- ^ Bert Marco Schuldes: Psychoactive plants. Nachtschatten Verlag, Solothurn 1994, ISBN 3-925817-64-6 .
- ^ Erwin Deutsch, Rudolf Ratzel, Hans-Dieter Lippert: Commentary on the Medicines Act (AMG). 3rd edition, Gabler Wissenschaftsverlage, 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-01454-3 , pp. 64–66, limited preview in the Google book search
- ↑ ArzneimittelG, Section 2, Paragraph 1, No. 5 a. F., Section 2 Paragraph 1 No. 2a new version, Section 5, Section 95 Paragraph 1 No. 1. Accessed on May 16, 2012.
- ↑ Martin Kämpf: Criminal Law: Trading with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL, liquid ecstasy) for consumption purposes. July 25, 2011.
- ↑ The unauthorized placing on the market of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) for consumption purposes is punishable under the Medicines Act. BGH judgment of December 8, 2009, 1 StR 277/09, LG Nürnberg-Fürth at Lexetius.com/2009,3836.
