The way I understand what I was reading on the web, the Mayapple is the
American form of Mandrake and not the Mandragora plant as such, this may be
a relative but isn't quite the same plant and has different requirements
etc.

The dog would also usually be starved a bit, and then it would be tied to
the plant, and food left some small distance away, that way as the dog
struggles to get to the food, it pulls the mandrake root out of the ground,
and I've always heard that far from being a fatal shriek, it would drive
whoever pulled it out of the ground mad instead. In this way you'd end up
with lots of mad dogs running around, and when you did you knew that someone
had been playing with Mandrake. This was probably a really convienant excuse
for hunting down witches when rabies came to town.

Duncan

"Peggy" wrote in message
t...
Satan's apple , or mandrake, is a relative of the nightshade plant. It's
root grows with 2 finger like appendages that mimic the form of a man's
legs, with the foliage then appearing to be his beard. Attributed with
magical powers, it was said to have grown under gallows, where the blood
of
the condemned had dripped. If one was to dig up a mandrake, he would bring
a
dog along. The root is said to let out "groans and shrieks" when dug, and
if
the digger heard them, he was as good as dead. So, he would bring a dog
who
would suffer the wrath of the terrible mandrake in his place. The plant
bears a yellow fruit that both looks and smells like a small apple
("mayapple"), but is highly poisonous. As one site put it "Toxic.
Consumption will cause insanity." Another touts "once known as the most
evil
plant in the world"

PS Here in Illinois it's called a "MayApple"
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/n...df/maqbool.pdf

Peg
A Macabre Garden
http://www.dreamwater.com/sancho/macabregarden.html
"Beware when you pull the May Apple out of the ground. An old mountain
superstition once said if a girl pulled the roots of the May Apple out of
the ground, she would become pregnant."

"Druss" wrote in message
...
Howdy all,

I've had a good trawl through dejanews and found only one or two
references
to Mandrake, mostly from me strangely enough !

However I do have one question for anyone who may have successfully
germinated Mandragora seeds;

Were there any special conditions, any special routines, or any special
soils helpful in getting the seeds to germinate.

I have acquired 10 seeds in total from the one fruit my mandrake
produced
and I'd like to make the most of them. I believe it grows mainly in the
South Eastern corner of Europe but am even unsure what weather
conditions
they have, will it need chilling, will it need soaking ??? etc

Any help very gratefully appreciated.

Cheers
Duncan