Mandrake

From Harry Potter Wiki

A Mandrake, also known as Mandragora, is a plant which has a root that looks like a human (like a baby when the plant is young, but maturing as the plant grows). Whenever unearthed, the root screams. The scream of a mature Mandrake when it is unearthed will kill any person who hears it, but a young Mandrake's screams will usually only knock a person out for several hours. When Hogwarts students study Mandrakes in Herbology class, Pomona Sprout had the students wear earmuffs to protect their ears from the Mandrake's cries.

Mandrakes not only resemble humans, but also have similar behaviors to them. In the 1992-1993 school year, the mandrakes, at one point of time, became moody and secretive, which indicated that they were reaching adolescence. And later on, they threw a loud party, which is comparable to humans when they are teenagers. Mandrakes are fully matured when they start moving into each others pots, similar to adult humans marrying and moving in together. When matured, Mandrakes can be cut up to serve as a prime ingredient for the Mandrake Restorative Draught, which is to cure those who have been Petrified. During The Battle of Hogwarts, Mandrakes were used against Death Eaters.

A Mandrake's fatal scream is very similar (if not the same) with a banshee's scream, which is also fatal.

[edit] Etymology

The (European) Mandrake plant has been used since ancient times as a medicinal plant and has a tradition associated with magical activities. It is a member of the nightshade family. It contains hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and mandragorin. Medically, it has been used as a pain killer and a sedative. It was used in ancient times for surgery. An overdose, though, can be fatal.

Because of its roots shapes resembling humans, it has been used in magical operations, and as a supposed aphrodesiac. There are variations on the plant, Mandragora Offininarum being the most usual form, with the smaller Mandragora autumnalis having the same properties. Some folk traditions call the latter (M. autumnalis) variety as "Womandrake" in distinction to M. Officinarum as "Mandrake." A third variant, Mandragora turcomanica, is a nearly extinct and very rare variety, found mostly in Turkey and a few areas of Iran. M. turcomanica is distinguished from M. autumnalis by having larger fruit.

In the Western Hemisphere, another plant, Podophyllum petaltum, is called the American Mandrake. The American Mandrake is unrelated to the European variety, and has fewer medical applications. It, too, is poisonous.