''Hyoscyamus'' — known as the henbanes — is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

family,

Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

. It comprises 31 species, all of which are toxic. It, along with other genera in the same family, is a source of the drug

hyoscyamine Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including Hyoscyamus niger, henbane, Mandragora officina ...

(daturine). Cruciferous type of stomata are present in Hyoscyamus. ''Hyoscyamus'' means "hog-bean" in

botanical Latin Botanical Latin is a technical language based on Neo-Latin, used for descriptions of botanical taxa. From 1935 to 2011, the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature mandated Botanical Latin to be used for the descriptions of new taxa (other tha ...

and was a name derogatorily applied to the plant by

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

. The

poisonous A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

henbanes were associated with

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

since earliest times. The

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

recommended hanging them on one's door to ward off

sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

Witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

found them valuable especially due to their trance-inducing capabilities, and they were used in

flying ointment Flying ointment is a hallucinogenic ointment said to have been used by witches in the practice of European witchcraft from at least as far back as the Early Modern period, when detailed recipes for such preparations were first recorded and whe ...

rituals. They have been used to lessen pain,

neuralgia Neuralgia (Greek ''neuron'', "nerve" + ''algos'', "pain") is pain in the distribution of a nerve or nerves, as in intercostal nerve, intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal nerve, glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Classifica ...

and diminish

convulsions A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is often used as a synony ...

recommended them largely for external pain killing use. The leaves are made into a kind of

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

to relieve

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and other respiratory ailments.Flowers of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and the Aegean by

Anthony Huxley Anthony Julian Huxley (2 December 1920 – 26 December 1992) was a British botanist and writer. An elected council member of the Royal Horticultural Society, he became its vice president in 1991. He edited '' Amateur Gardening'' from 1967 to 19 ...

and William Taylor -

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his busines ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

1977 - ISBN 0 7011 2228 5

Species

31 species are accepted. * '' Hyoscyamus afghanicus'' – Afghanistan * '' Hyoscyamus albus'' L. – White henbane – Spain and Morocco * '' Hyoscyamus arachnoideus'' – northern Iraq and Western Iran * '' Hyoscyamus aureus'' L. – Golden henbane – Eastern Mediterranean (Greece to Egypt) and Iraq * '' Hyoscyamus bornmuelleri'' – southern Iran * '' Hyoscyamus boveanus'' (Dunal) Asch. & Schweinf. – Egypt and Sinai * '' Hyoscyamus coelesyriacus'' – Lebanon * '' Hyoscyamus desertorum'' (Asch. ex Boiss.) Täckh. – Syria to Egypt and northeastern Saudi Arabia * '' Hyoscyamus flaccidus'' – Oman and Yemen * '' Hyoscyamus gallagheri'' – Oman * '' Hyoscyamus grandiflorus'' – northern Somalia * '' Hyoscyamus insanus'' – eastern Arabian Peninsula to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Himalayas * '' Hyoscyamus kotschyanus'' – western and southwestern Iran * '' Hyoscyamus kurdicus'' – northern Iraq to Iran * '' Hyoscyamus leptocalyx'' – southeastern Turkey to western Iran * '' Hyoscyamus leucanthera'' – Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan * '' Hyoscyamus longipedunculatus'' – northern Iraq * '' Hyoscyamus malekianus'' – southern Iran * '' Hyoscyamus multicaulis'' – central Afghanistan * '' Hyoscyamus muticus'' L. (synonym: ''H. falezlez'') – Egyptian henbane – northern Africa (Sahara), Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Pakistan, and India * ''

Hyoscyamus niger Henbane (''Hyoscyamus niger'', also black henbane and stinking nightshade) is a poisonous plant belonging to tribe Hyoscyameae of the nightshade family ''Solanaceae''. Henbane is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great B ...

'' L. – Black henbane – temperate Eurasia and north Africa * '' Hyoscyamus nutans'' – Iran * '' Hyoscyamus orthocarpus'' – western and southern Iran * '' Hyoscyamus pojarkovae'' – Syria, Iraq, and Iran * '' Hyoscyamus pusillus'' L. – Western and Central Asia to Tibet and Mongolia * '' Hyoscyamus reticulatus'' L. – Turkey to Sinai and Tajikistan * '' Hyoscyamus rosularis'' – central Iran * '' Hyoscyamus senecionis'' – northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan * '' Hyoscyamus squarrosus'' – Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan * '' Hyoscyamus tenuicaulis'' – western and southern Iran * '' Hyoscyamus tibesticus'' – Chad (

Tibesti Mountains The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and i ...

)

Gallery

File:Hyoscyamus albus flora.jpg, '' Hyoscyamus albus'' File:Hyoscyamus aureus flower a RJP.jpg, '' Hyoscyamus aureus'' File:Hyoscyamus muticus 02.JPG, '' Hyoscyamus muticus'' File:שיכרון מרושת פרחים.jpg, '' Hyoscyamus reticulatus'' File:Hyoscyamus pusillus 1.jpg, '' Hyoscyamus pusillus''

References

External links

{{Authority control Solanaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus