The Inflexible, Unturnable One – Atropa belladonna

Deadly nightshade (atropa belladonna) is a branching perennial that aesthetically has little to recommend it to the gardener. Yet this straggly weed has a history which has woven itself into the public consciousness for good and ill.  The English name recognizes first its potential for harm. That it’s deadly is a given. Laced with atropine, hyoscine, and hyoscine the blue-black fruit are glossy and sweet. It’s these that tend to cause most accidental poisonings, but as all parts of the plant are poisonous it’s also possible to absorb the active ingredients in the sap through the skin. This skin contact can lead to dizziness, sensitivity to light, dry throat and mouth, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. To ingest the plant is almost certain death.

Part of Atropa’s nature is reflected in the second half of its botanical name. Belladonna, Italian for beautiful lady, describes its use as a cosmetic. The juice was used to dilate a lady’s pupils, and effect which was considered beautiful at certain times in Europe, though there would be considerable difficulty on the lady’s part in focusing on the object of her desire. Indeed there is evidence that this particular attempt at beauty could result in permanent blindness so the paramour would need to be well worth the health risks.

The plant has other medicinal benefits although its use has always carried something of a risk. With the progression of the season and variations in the weather, levels of the active compounds will vary considerably. This principle was understood by the healers of old and so less was always prefered to a full dose. For all healers and doctors the control of pain is a primary focus and one where the herbal remedies available for sever pain tend to be in and of themselves dangerous. The use of them effectively demonstrates a great deal of skill which would rival a modern pharmacist. In the case of deadly nightshade we have records of its use from the Roman Empire onwards as a pain reliever, muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory, and during menstruation. When combined with another plant medicine opium it produces a twilight sleep where very little pain is felt, the patient feels relaxed, but without a loss of consciousness. The actions of the nightshade and the poppy fighting each other and leaving the patient in a blissful state. This antagonistic combination was so useful that Queen Victoria herself was placed in a twilight sleep while she delivered her children. As one of the most poisonous plants known in Europe it has also been used effectively to remove life too though its symptoms are easy to observe and recognize.

Finally when we look to the first half of the botanical name we can see how well the name was given. Atropos was one of the Moirai in Greek mythology who were the daughters of Zeus himself. Intricately bound to them he could command them but at the same time was under their control as were all men and gods. These three sisters, known as the Fates  in English, controlled the destiny and lives of all by means of their symbol of a spool of thread. The youngest sister Clotho would spin out the thread while her sister Lachesis would portion out the length of thread, or life, for the individual. It was the job of Atropos the oldest sister to cut the thread and thereby end the life of an individual with her dreaded shears. Not only did she choose the time of a person’s death but also the manner too and when the Romans took her into their myths she became Morta (Death) Try as they might no one could turn her from her duty. She was the implacable, unbendable, inflexible end that must come to gods and men alike.

She and her sisters were both honoured and feared by our ancestors. These goddesses were important both in terms of the fate they allotted to people and also at childbirth. Brides would also leave offerings to the three goddesses just before their marriage including gifts of hair. That they were depicted as spinners is important too. The use of looms and the knotting of threads to control another was a common practice, and in the story of the birth of Herakles the sisters used magics to free his life from any knots that others might try to use to control him. This concept of fate and weaving is, forgive the pun, a common thread in mythologies. Indeed the Norns of the Norse are almost exactly the same in action and purpose in all but name.

It is this which led Linnaeus to use her name for so deadly a plant, and perhaps the plants use in witchcraft too. The properties of deadly nightshade would have been known to healers and in combination with other plants can produce ointments that give the sensations of flying whilst in a semi wakefulness. Though there are no recipes, given the fact that the plant was certainly used in such combinations it’s reasonable to see this as the basis for the stories of witches flying on broomsticks.

This is not a plant that should ever be worked with either as a remedy or as a garden plant. The nature of it is too dangerous for the amateur and so its removal from the garden is advisable using gloves. Never burn it as the smoke will carry the active compounds too and so it needs to be bagged and binned. When seen in nature, however, there is one thing it will tell you. Because of the conditions it requires to germinate there is a good likelihood that water will be nearby. It also looks similar to its cousin the huckleberry so never gather fruit from a plant which you have not planted as seed personally. Atropos is implacable and no matter how juicy the berries look it is better not to tempt fate.

 

© Peter C. Simms and The Garden of Gods and Monsters, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Peter C. Simms and The Garden of Gods and Monsters with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.