Mandragora officinarum

Mandragora officinarum is a species of the plant genus mandrake. Historically, it has been associated with a variety of superstitious practices.
Physical characteristics
It is a perennial plant growing to 0.1 by 0.3 m (0.33 by 0.98 ft). It is in leaf from late winter to midsummer, in flower from late winter through early spring, and the seeds ripen in late summer.[dubious ] The flowers are hermaphroditic (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by insects. The plant is self-fertile.
The roots are somewhat carrot-shaped and can be up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long; they often divide into two and are vaguely suggestive of the human body.
The leaves grow in a rosette, and are ovate-oblong to ovate, wrinkled, crisp, sinuate-dentate to entire leaves, 5 to 40 cm (2.0 to 15.7 in) long, somewhat resembling those of the tobacco plant. A number of one...