In its early folklore, however, the mandrake was something of a love potion. They also described it as a hallucinogen and a narcotic and believed it to possess mysterious powers over the mind. Ancient Greeks and Romans used it as an anesthetic, as a soporific to induce sleep, and to treat a variety of illnesses. Medically, the plant possessed varied healing properties. A fragrant and low-growing, leafy species of nightshade, the mandrake has captured the western imagination more than any other plant. įurthermore, the mandrake legends have proven very durable across time and space ever since they were first circulated some 3,000 years ago. When William Byrd first learned about the Chinese regard for American ginseng around 1729, he thought that it “as fabulous as that extraordinary plant mentioned by Theophrastus,” referring to mandrake. Digging ginseng had become an important component of a culture that emerged out of an interdependence with the forests, and it is entirely possible that lore from several different folkways entered into that cultural matrix. Prized by the Chinese for its healing properties, ginseng had been consumed in China for thousands of years, providing a steady market for mountain residents since at least the 1750s. First, ginseng had long been the most important marketable herb in the forest, providing countless mountain families with enough spending money to get through the winters.
Yet, his claim that Aunt Marthy and other sang diggers applied mandrake lore to ginseng is probably true. Smyth’s story should be read with some caution, as he seems to draw heavily on Appalachian stereotypes common to the era.
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