| Hyoscyamus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hyoscyamus niger | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Subfamily: | Solanoideae |
| Tribe: | Hyoscyameae |
| Genus: | Hyoscyamus L. (1753)[1] |
| Species[2] | |
|
31, see text | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Hyoscyamus — known as the henbanes — is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It comprises 31 species,[2] all of which are toxic. It, along with other genera in the same family, is a source of the drug hyoscyamine (daturine). Cruciferous type of stomata are present in Hyoscyamus.
Hyoscyamus means "hog-bean" in botanical Latin and was a name derogatorily applied to the plant by Dioscorides.[3]
The poisonous, narcotic henbanes were associated with witchcraft since earliest times. The Assyrians recommended hanging them on one's door to ward off sorcery. Witches found them valuable especially due to their trance-inducing capabilities, and they were used in flying ointment rituals. They have been used to lessen pain, neuralgia and diminish convulsions. Dioscorides recommended them largely for external pain killing use. The leaves are made into a kind of cigarette to relieve asthma and other respiratory ailments.[4]
- ^ "Hyoscyamus L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-09-01. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ^ a b c Hyoscyamus Tourn. ex L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Gledhill D. 1996. The Names of Plants. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521366755
- ^ Flowers of Greece and the Aegean by Anthony Huxley and William Taylor - Chatto & Windus, London 1977 - ISBN 0 7011 2228 5