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Mandrake

Mandrake

Product number: 331770
Origin: Mediterranean region
Latin: Mandragora officinarum

A beautiful (but very poisonous!) plant with a very ancient history. The large, glossy green leaves grow in a rosette. The flowers emerge just above the foliage, their pointed petals forming a star shape with white and violet veins at the center. After flowering, dark yellow (initially green) berries develop. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the thick roots possessed special properties. They are irregularly shaped, and with a little imagination, one can see a human figure in them; the so-called 'Mandrake Man'. In that era, the "doctrine of signatures" was widely recognized: a resemblance connected the plant to the depicted part of the human body, in this case, the entire body. Due to prolonged hallucinations at low doses, the plant was widely used in magic and witchcraft.

Names:
Latin: Mandragora officinarum
Dutch: Alruin
Also known as: Alruinmannetje
English: Mandrake

Sowing method: In a seed tray, first give 2-4 weeks of warmth (18-22° C), then a cold period in, for example, the refrigerator (+4° C) for 4-6 weeks, then gradually warm up to room temperature again, after which germination will follow. Sowing directly into the ground is also possible; in that case, simply let it overwinter, and germination will occur in spring.

Sowing/planting time: