Mandrake is a plant that belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae, and it is often known as Mandragora officinarum. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers followed by yellow or orange berries. Mandrake contains deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids (atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine) which cause delirium and hallucinations. The plant has been associated with a variety of religious and spiritual practices throughout history and has long been used in magic rituals, today also in contemporary Pagan practices such as Wicca and Heathenry. Mandrake has been used as a narcotic, emetic, sedative, and hallucinogen, and its poisons can easily lead to death. The root of the plant has been used for many hundreds of years as a soporific (sleep-inducing) and pain-killing plant. Mandrake has been used in homeopathic and folk medicine and has applications in modern witchcraft and occult practices. However, the European Medicines Agency does not recognize mandrake, and indeed any Mandragora species, as an approved herbal medicinal product, substance, or preparation under the European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products.