Atropa Belladonna
	Common name: Deadly Nightshade Botanical name: Atropa Belladonna Family: Solanaceae Active chemicals: Scopolamine, Hyoscyamine Effects: Derliriant, Poison Parts used: Root, berries, leaves, bark
The foliage and berries of Belladonna are extremely toxic, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include scopolamine and hyoscyamine which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations. The drug atropine is derived from the plant.

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General Info

Atropa Belladona: The Deadly Nightshade
Taxonomically, Atropa belladona is classified in the Solanaceae, a family that also includes the common potato, tobacco and chile pepper. This species probably came originally from southern Europe and Asia, but is today naturalized in many parts of the world.

Belladonna-like Substances
The family Solanaceae, made up of more than 2,400 species, is especially noteworthy. Many of its members contain the alkaloids atropine (dl-hyoscamine) and scopolamine (hyoscine).

Growing Info

Growing Belladonna from Growing the Hallucinogens
Belladonna is hardy throughout the U.S., dying back in winter and rising from the root in spring. It prefers a well-drained, well-limed soil in full sun or part shade. The soil should be kept moist at all times. Plants exposed to too much sun will be stunted. In hot sunny areas it may be grown between rows of beans to shade it.

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"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution - then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise."
- Aldous Huxley