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"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it."
Hermione Granger[src]

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). When mature, its cry can be fatal to any person who hears it.

Information

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 behaviours 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. Later on, they threw a loud party, which is comparable to humans when they are teenagers. Hagrid also mentioned the Mandrakes having acne. Mandrakes are fully matured when they start moving into each others pots. When matured, Mandrakes can be cut up to serve as a prime ingredient for the Mandrake Restorative Draught, which is used to cure those who have been Petrified. Additionally, the Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes.[1] During the Battle of Hogwarts, Mandrakes were used against Death Eaters.

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

The Dugbog's favourite food is Mandrakes, which leads to Mandrake-growers finding nothing but a bloody mess when pulling their plants out. Flesh-Eating Slugs are known to favour Mandrakes. In the 1992-1993 school year, Rubeus Hagrid bought Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent for use on Hogwarts' Mandrakes, which would later be used to cure the petrification of Colin Creevey, Hermione Granger, and others.

Their leaves can be used in Potions.[2]

Etymology

Sprout

Professor Sprout teaches her Second year Herbology students how to pot young Mandrakes.

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.

DracoBittenMandrake

Draco Malfoy bitten by a Mandrake during his second year.

Because of its roots' shapes resembling humans, it has been used in magical operations, and as a supposed aphrodisiac.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

CS C6

A Mandrake being pulled from its roots

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.

Behind the scenes

  • In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, mandrakes can be found throughout the castle and grounds and can be used to break glass objects. Also the player can make it sing as an extra (cheat code).
  • In the Game Boy Color version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the "Mandrake Root" item does not resemble the babies seen in other versions, and in fact looks more like a leaf than a root, suggesting the item is merely misnamed.

Appearances

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Notes and references

  1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 6 - (Gilderoy Lockhart)
  2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26 - (The Second Task)
Herbology
Pottedmandrake
Herbologists
Astrid Cole · Clifford Cromwell · Marmaduke Dale · Blossom Degrasse · Miranda Goshawk · Alfred Lawley · Olgae Marinus · Beaumont Marjoribanks · Nepali wizard · Gethsemane Prickle · Sanjay Shanker · Selina Sapworthy · Phyllida Spore · Yubert Thorne · Tilden Toots · Hadrian Whittle · Winogrand
Herbology at Hogwarts
Herbology Award · Herbology Lesson Cup · Herbology Race Cup · Herbology Store · Hidden Herbology Corridor
Greenhouses One · Two · Three · Four · Five · Six · Seven · Professor's office
Professors Mirabel Garlick's predecessor · Mirabel Garlick · Herbert Beery · Pomona Sprout · Neville Longbottom
Textbooks Flesh-Eating Trees of the World · Ingredient Encyclopedia · One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi · Winogrand's Wondrous Water Plants
Plants studied and grown at Hogwarts
Aconite · Alihotsy · Asphodel · Belladonna · Bouncing Bulb · Bubotuber · Bubotuber pus · Chinese Chomping Cabbage · Cowbane · Dandelion · Devil's Snare · Dirigible Plum · Dittany · Fanged Geranium · Fat cactus-like plant · Fire seed bush · Flitterbloom · Floo · Flutterby bush · Fluxweed · Gillyweed · Ginger · Greenhouse Tree · Hemlock · Honking daffodil · Ivy · Knotgrass · Lady's Mantle · Lavender · Leaping Toadstool · Lovage · Mandrake · Mimbulus mimbletonia · Mistletoe · Moly · Nettle · Peppermint · Puffapod · Raspberry · Rose · Sage · Screechsnap · Scurvy grass · Self-fertilising shrub · Shrivelfig · Snargaluff · Sneezewort · Sopophorous plant · Sopophorous Bean · Spiky Bush · Spiky Prickly Plant · Stinksap · Sugar Shrub · Toad-eating plant · Tormentil · Umbrella Flower · Valerian · Vampiric vegetation · Venomous Tentacula · Walking plant · Wax vegetables · Whomping Willow · Wiggentree · Wild rice · Wormwood
Spells taught in Herbology at Hogwarts
Fire-Making Spell (Incendio) · Herbivicus Charm (Herbivicus) · Incendio Duo Spell (Incendio Duo) · Lumos Solem Spell (Lumos Solem) · Severing Charm (Diffindo)
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