Mandragora autumnalis
| Mandragora autumnalis | |
|---|---|
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| Photographed in Israel | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Mandragora |
| Species: | M. autumnalis |
| Binomial name | |
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Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. |
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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.
The boundary between the two species Mandragora autumnalis and Mandragora officinarum varies among authors, with some regarding them as the same species (see § Taxonomy below). Whatever distinction is used, plants of M. autumnalis are herbaceous perennials, with a large upright tap-root, often branched and sometimes shaped somewhat like a person. There is little or no stem, the leaves being borne in a basal rosette up to 60 cm (2 ft) across. The flowers are clustered at the centre of the rosette, each with five sepals, five petals and five stamens. Both the sepals and petals are fused at the base forming two five-lobed bell-shaped cups. The ovary has two chambers (locules) and a long style. The fruit is a fleshy berry with many seeds.
For those authors who regard Mandragora autumnalis as the main species found around the Mediterranean, it has flowers varying in colour but typically violet or purple, 30–40 mm (1–2 in) long, and berries that are yellow or orange and egg-shaped, while the much less widespread Mandragora officinarum has somewhat smaller flowers, greenish-white in colour, and berries that are yellow and globe-shaped. Those who regard M. officinarum as the main species found around the Mediterranean, with M. autumnalis being found only in the Levant, use the size of the seeds as one of the distinguishing factors, those of M. autumnalis being more than twice the size of those of M. officinarum. In Israel, where the native taxon is M. autumnalis in both approaches, it flowers between December and February, i.e. not only in the autumn as the specific epithet might suggest.
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