Herb. No. 061 · Solanaceae
Woodland margins of Europe and western Asia.
Native · Europe · West Asia
Native Also grown
OpenDeadlyplant
Deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna
Shiny black cherries on a dull purple bell — atropine in botanical form. Not a home medicine.
Handle as a poison-garden specimen. See Safety before any use.
Atropa is the classic anticholinergic poison: hot, dry, blind, mad, red. Atropine and scopolamine are essential in a crash cart and lethal in a jam jar. A few berries have killed children. This is a labeled poison-garden specimen only.
Flavor
Do not taste. Sweetish berries are part of why children eat them.
Parts used
None for self-care.
In favor
- Teaches the tropane toxidrome alongside datura
Against
- Child-attractive fruit
- Fatal at small doses
- Delirium lasts days