Witches and sorcerers used the roots, fruits, and leaves of the plant not only as charms, but also in potions, ointments, oils, and other concoctions to secure the children, love, wealth, or power that their customers and friends desired. However, many believe that it was European witches and sorcerers who made this legend popular, to protect the plant from the greedy hands of illicit vendors and common folk. The mandrake-hunter can then unplug their ears and continue the hunt in peace. The mandrake root will be uprooted by the dog’s sudden leap, and its shrieks will kill the hungry dog. Back away from the root and throw the dog a treat, and the dog will lunge for it. According to the stories, the only way to uproot the mandrake safely is to plug one’s ears with wax and tie a rope between a mandrake root and a dog’s tail. The ages-old legend of the shrieking mandrake, as portrayed in the world of Harry Potter, holds that a mandrake will emit an ear-piercing scream if uprooted, killing the person who digs it up. Harry Potter Screaming Plant: Mandrake Plant & Witches The Ancients, including Romans, Greeks, and Celts considered it a soporific and an anodyne. During operations in Pliny's day, a piece of the root was given to the patient to chew before undergoing operations. Mandrake was the most popular anesthetic during the Middle Ages and used as a narcotic in the Elizabethan Age. Harry Potter Screaming Plant: Use of Mandrake in Traditional Medicine Likewise, with the proper dosages, the plants put a patient in a deep sleep so doctors could perform surgery. Historically mandrake roots have been used in conjunction with other plants as a natural painkiller. However, the nightshade family is also notorious for its poisonous offspring. The nightshade is the same family that gives us tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, tobacco, and goji berries. Mandrake roots originated in the Mediterranean and are part of the nightshade family. Harry Potter Screaming Plant: Origins of the Mandrake However, it’s important to note that this is only a myth, and you, probably, won’t experience the same in real life. In order to collect the mandrake without seeking an unfortunate end, farmers would tie a mandrake to a dog and then lure it with food killing the dog but leaving you with a freshly pulled mandrake. ![]() However, according to lore, earmuffs won’t save you from its high pitch wails. In the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, students wore earmuffs to block the screams of the young mandrakes, which were thought to kill whoever heard its shrieks. Mandrake's roots have carried with their myth and legend throughout the ages. ![]() Harry Potter Screaming Plant: Portrayal of Mandrake in Fiction
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