Mandrake (Lappanu)
Mandragora officinarum
About Mandrake (Lappanu)
Mandrake (Lappanu) (Mandragora officinarum) is a herb used in the Ancient Babylonian Medicine tradition to help with Pain, Fertility, Insomnia, and Ceremonial Use, among 1 other condition it addresses. The aerial parts and leaves are the parts traditionally used, used both internally and topically.
Botanical background
Mandragora officinarum is the type species of the plant genus Mandragora. It is often known as mandrake, although this name is also used for other plants. As of 2015, sources differ significantly in the species they use for Mandragora plants native to the Mediterranean region. In the narrowest circumscription, M. officinarum is limited to small areas of northern Italy and the coast of former Yugoslavia, and the main species found around the Mediterranean is called Mandragora autumnalis,...
Source: Wikipedia, via iNaturalist