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Hyoscyamus niger - L.

Henbane

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Hyoscyamus
Synonyms
Known Hazards	All parts of the plant are very toxic[7, 10, 19, 65, 76]. Symptoms of poisoning include impaired vision, convulsions, coma and death from heart or respiratory failure[238].
Range	Much of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat	By the walls of fields, waste ground, near buildings and in stony places from low-lying ground near the sea to lower mountain slopes[7].
Edibility Rating	0 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	4 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 1m by 1m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds; East Wall In;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anodyne; Anthelmintic; Antispasmodic; Antitumor; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Hallucinogenic; Hypnotic; Mydriatic; Narcotic; Sedative.

Henbane has a very long history of use as a medicinal herb, and has been widely cultivated to meet the demand for its use[4]. It is used extensively as a sedative and pain killer and is specifically used for pain affecting the urinary tract, especially when due to kidney stones[254]. Its sedative and antispasmodic effect makes it a valuable treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, relieving tremor and rigidity during the early stages of the disease[254]. This species is the form generally considered best for external use, whilst the white henbane (H. albus) is considered the most appropriate for internal use[4]. All parts of the plant, but especially the leaves and the seeds, can be used - they are anodyne, antispasmodic, mildly diuretic, hallucinogenic, hypnotic, mydriatic, narcotic and sedative[4, 9, 13, 21, 100, 165, 192, 218]. The plant is used internally in the treatment of asthma, whooping cough, motion sickness, Meniere's syndrome, tremor in senility or paralysis and as a pre-operative medication[238]. Henbane reduces mucous secretions, as well as saliva and other digestive juices[254]. Externally, it is used as an oil to relieve painful conditions such as neuralgia, dental and rheumatic pains[238, 254].The leaves should be harvested when the plant is in full flower and they can then be dried for later use[4]. There is an annual and a biennial form of this species, both can be used medicinally but the biennial form is considered to be superior[4]. This is a very poisonous plant that should be used with great caution, and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner[21, 238]. See the notes above on toxicity. The seed is used in the treatment of asthma, cough, epilepsy, myalgia and toothache[218]. The seeds are used in Tibetan medicine, they are said to have a bitter, acrid taste with a neutral and poisonous potency[241]. Anthelmintic, antitumor and febrifuge, they are used in the treatment of stomach/intestinal pain due to worm infestation, toothache, inflammation of the pulmonary region and tumours[241].

Other Uses

Repellent.

The leaves scattered about a house will drive away mice[207].

Scented Plants

Flowers: Fresh

The flowers emit a sickly fishy smell.

Cultivation details

Prefers a sunny position[4] and a dry soil[19]. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1] but prefers an alkaline soil[200]. Plants succeed in sandy spots near the sea[4]. Cultivated commercially as a medicinal plant[57], only the biennial form is considered officinal[4]. Grows well in maritime areas, often self-sowing freely[200]. Older plants do not transplant well due to a brittle taproot[200]. The growing plant inhibits the growth of clover[18]. The flowers emit a sickly fishy smell[245].

Propagation

Seed - sow summer in a cold frame and pot on as soon as possible before the taproot is too long[200].

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[10] Altmann. H. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus 1980 ISBN 0-7011-2526-8
A small book, reasonable but not very detailed.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0
An excellent small herbal.

[192] Emboden. W. Narcotic Plants Studio Vista 1979 ISBN 0-289-70864-8
A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[241] Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994 ISBN 81-900489-0-2
A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Hyoscyamus niger

Ari-ullah Khan Mon Dec 3 2007

I shall highly apperciate if you please tell me the page no. where the hyoscyamus niger is mentioned in the following book: Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148 With profound regards Arif

Hyoscyamus niger

ibrahim alzuhd Wed Oct 29 2008

from where can i get this plant?

Hyoscyamus niger

Ian H Wed Apr 22 2009

The smell of the flower is not fishy - it smells absolutely nothing like fish, the flower has a scent which smells like a across between rotten potato and tomato plant smell... with a hint sweaty feet. The flower smells pretty much the same as every other part of this plant.

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