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Hyoscyamus albus

Common name:	White Henbane	Family:	Solanaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are very toxic[7, 10, 19, 65, 76, 200]. Symptoms of poisoning include impaired vision, convulsions, coma and death from heart or respiratory failure[238].
Range:	S. Europe.
Habitat:	Dry, uncultivated ground, walls and field margins.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	4

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Banj [E], Beleno Blanco [E], Beleno Negro [E], Giusquiamo Bianco [E], Hisquiamus [E], Jusquiame Blanche [E], Meimendro Branco [E], Russian Henbane [H], Weisses Bilsenkraut [E], White Henbane [P,E,B], Wit Bilzenkruid [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	albus = white;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Solanales. Potato family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain; Europe; France; Germany; India; Iraq; Italy; Netherlands; Portugal; Spain

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 0.9m. It is hardy to zone 7. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 4/5 for medicinal use.

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 and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, In Walls, In East Wall.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anodyne; Antispasmodic; Diuretic; 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 generally considered the best for internal use, whilst the black henbane (H. niger) is the form most used externally[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]. 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].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a hot dry position[200] in a wall or rock crevice[187]. Succeeds in a well-drained fertile soil, preferably of an alkaline nature, in full sun[200]. Grows well in maritime areas[200].
Plants are possibly hardy to about -10°c[187], they are unlikely to succeed in the colder areas of Britain.
Self-sows freely, it can be grown in wild informal areas of the garden[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, older seed rapidly loses viability[200]. Either sow in situ or pot up the seedlings whilst still small because plants produce a long taproot and older plants resent root disturbance[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for hyoscyamus albus (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Solanaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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.

[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.

[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.
An excellent small herbal.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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.

[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.

[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

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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