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The term bane (from Old English :bana, meaning "thing causing death, poison"), [1] in botany, is an archaic element in the common names of plants known to be toxic or poisonous.
In the Middle Ages, several poisonous plants of the genus Aconitum were thought to have prophylactic qualities, repelling and protecting against that which they were banes to (e.g. henbane , wolfsbane).
There is no single species, genus, or family of poisonous plant exclusively referred to as banes. Several unrelated plants bear the name.
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In medieval Europe, the toxic entheogen Aconitine was believed to prevent werewolves from undergoing their dire transformations.
In the Southeastern United States, sheep and cattle straying into woodland and grazing Kalmia latifolia have been known to suffer from its toxic effects.
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Aquilegia is a genus of about 60–70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.
Aconitum, also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly native to the mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia; growing in the moisture-retentive but well-draining soils of mountain meadows.
Pyrethrum was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as Chrysanthemum or Tanacetum which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly included in the genus Pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum. Its active ingredient are pyrethrins.
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus.
Arnica is a genus of perennial, herbaceous plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The genus name Arnica may be derived from the Greek arni, "lamb", in reference to the plants' soft, hairy leaves. Arnica is also known by the names mountain tobacco and confusingly, leopard's bane and wolfsbane—two names that it shares with the entirely unrelated genus Aconitum.
Cicuta virosa, the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of Cicuta, native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America.
Eranthis is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to southern Europe and east across Asia to Japan. The common name winter aconite comes from the early flowering time and the resemblance of the leaves to those of the related genus Aconitum, the true aconite. Like the notoriously toxic AconitumEranthis is poisonous, although its chemistry is different, the toxic compounds present being mainly cardiac glycosides of the bufadienolide group similar to those found in Adonis vernalis, rather than the virulent alkaloids of Aconitum.
Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics and dissociatives such as LSD and ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid and less disturbed states produced by other types of hallucinogens. The term generally refers to anticholinergic drugs, which are substances that inhibit the function of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Common examples of deliriants include plants of the genera Datura and Brugmansia as well as higher than recommended dosages of diphenhydramine (Benadryl). A number of plant deliriants such as that of the Solanaceae family, particularly in the Americas have been used by some indigenous cultures to reach delirious and altered states for traditions or rituals, such as rites of passage, divination or communicating with the ancestors. Despite their long history of use, deliriants are the least-studied class of hallucinogens in terms of their behavioral and neurological effects.
Cicuta, commonly known as water hemlock, is a genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to 2.5 meters (8 ft) tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape (umbel). Plants in this genus may also be referred to as cowbane or poison parsnip. Cicuta is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly North America and Europe, typically growing in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas. These plants bear a close resemblance to other members in the family Apiaceae and may be confused with a number of edible or poisonous plants. The common name hemlock may also be confused with poison hemlock, or with the Hemlock tree.
Aconitum anthora, variously known as anthora, yellow monkshood, or healing wolfsbane, is a yellow flowering plant species of the genus Aconitum in the family Ranunculaceae.
Aconitum lycoctonum is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aconitum, of the family Ranunculaceae, native to much of Europe and northern Asia.
Doronicum is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, known as leopard's bane. They are all herbaceous perennials native to Europe, southwest Asia and Siberia. They produce yellow, daisy-like flowerheads in spring and summer.
Doronicum orientale, the leopard's bane, is a European plant species in the family Asteraceae.
Staphisagria macrosperma, formerly known as Delphinium staphisagria, is a species of Staphisagria of the family Ranunculaceae. It used to belong to the subgenus or section Staphisagria of the genus Delphinium, but molecular evidence suggests Staphisagria should be a genus which is a sister group to the Aconitum-Delphinium clade. It is described botanically as a stoutly-stemmed, hairy biennial with large palmate leaves up to 6 inches (15 cm) across. The flowers are mauve-blue to blue, short-spurred, and up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) across, occurring in racemes. The plant grows to a height of 4–5 feet. It grows throughout the Mediterranean. All parts of this plant are highly toxic and should not be ingested in any quantity.
Leopard's bane or leopard's-bane may refer to:
Aconitum napellus, monkshood, aconite, Venus' chariot or wolfsbane, is a species of highly toxic flowering plant in the genus Aconitum of the family Ranunculaceae, native and endemic to western and central Europe. It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1 m tall, with hairless stems and leaves. The leaves are rounded, 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) diameter, palmately divided into five to seven deeply lobed segments. The flowers are dark purple to bluish-purple, narrow oblong helmet-shaped, 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) tall. Plants native to Asia and North America formerly listed as A. napellus are now regarded as separate species. The plant is extremely poisonous in both ingestion and body contact.
Doronicum grandiflorum is a European species of Doronicum, a member of the family Asteraceae.
Curio rowleyanus, syn. Senecio rowleyanus, is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is a creeping, perennial, succulent vine native to the drier parts of southwest Africa. In its natural environment its stems trail on the ground, rooting where they touch and forming dense mats. It often avoids direct sunlight by growing in the shade of other plants and rocks. It is commonly known as string-of-pearls or string-of-beads.
Certain plant species are endemic to Slovakia.
Doronicum pardaliances, known as leopard's-bane, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Like other members of the genus Doronicum, it is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial. It has upright stems growing to 80 cm (31 in), with heart-shaped basal leaves and yellow flowers, generally 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) across. It is native to western Europe and was introduced to the British Isles, where it was first recorded in Northumberland in 1633.