Autumn Mandrake
Mandragora autumnalis

Family: Solanaceae

What it is like

A low herb. It does not have a stem and it is hairless. It has a thick fleshy branched rootstock and keeps growing from year to year. The leaves form a large flat ring. This is 60 cm across. The leaves are oblong and stalked and have a wavy edge. The flowers are violet or purple and 30-40 mm across. They have 5 triangle shaped lobes. The flowers are produced in the ring of leaves. The fruit is an orange or yellow berry.

There are 6 Mandragora species. The roots contain alkaloids which help sleep.

Where it is found

It can grow in cultivated land or on stony and waste places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Europe, India, Jordan, Mediterranean, Middle East, Morocco, North Africa, Spain

How it is used for food

CAUTION: It contains alkaloids that are mildly poisonous. The fruit are eaten raw.

Edible parts

Root, fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kaatjuti, Luckmuna, Lufah, Tufah majan, Tuffah majan, Yebruj

Synonyms

Mandragora microcarpa Bertol.; Mandragora officinarum Linn.;