Black Henbane

I always think this is rather a strange flower, but with such a beautiful pattern on the petals. Photographed this noxious weed on 23 June 2015, when I was on a botany walk at Griffith Woods.

"An annual or biennial (forming a rosette the first year) plant that reproduces by seed only. Black Henbane was introduced from the Mediterranean and has been used as a medicinal plant since the Middle Ages, and was also used in ancient religious rites because of its hallucinogenic properties. It was even used as a flavoring in beer until the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and animals when ingested – tissues contain several toxic alkaloids. Symptoms of poisoning include impaired vision, convulsions, coma, and death from heart or respiratory failure.

It is a member of the nightshade family and also called ‘stinking nightshade’. A single plant can produce as much as half a million seeds in one season, which are viable for about 4 years."

www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-BlackHenbane.pdf -