Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?

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By Chelsie Vandaveer

July 15, 2001

Sponsored By: Spring Hill Nursery—>Click here.

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Delphinium, Cloth of Gold, Bleeding Heart & Black Eyed Susan—>Click here.

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) gets its name from a fad in fashion. Fashion dictated that a beautiful woman (bella donna) must have large eyes or at the very least, enlarged pupils. A tincture of belladonna put into the

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eyes caused the pupils to dilate.

Of course, the beautiful woman could not see very well, bright light was a pain, and she would very likely lose much of her vision from its constant use, but she looked good! And the loss of vision may have made a lot of sense; after all, her marriage would probably be arranged.

Belladonna is also called deadly nightshade. All parts of the plant are highly toxic containing atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine.

The physician, John Gerard, was appalled at the number of children who had died because of this vanity. In The Herbal (1597) he wrote, "...if you will follow my counsel, deal not with the same in any case, and banish it from your gardens and the use of it also, being a plant so serious and deadly; for it brings such as have eaten thereof into a dead sleep wherein many have died..."

Henriette's Herbal Homepage has posted several great photographs of belladonna. To view her photographs, click on the link:

Click here to view her photographs

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading:

What plant was used to invoke the aid of Bellona? Herbal Folklore - June 3, 2002
What was spirit weed? Herbal Folklore - October 11, 2004
What is cassie? Herbal Folklore - February 9, 2004
What is carnauba? Plants that Changed History - March 2, 2004
What plant is like a nose? What's in a Name? - March 8, 2002
An Herb that was Mortal Plants that Changed History - May 14, 2002

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