Papaver somniferum
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- | # A man who practises [[witchcraft]]. | ||
- | #* '''1485''', Sir Thomas Malory, ''[[Le Morte Darthur]]'', Book I.8: | ||
- | #*: And som of hem lough [Merlin] to scorne, as kyng Lot, and mo other called hym a '''wytche'''. | ||
- | # A woman who is learned in and actively practices [[witchcraft]]. | ||
- | # An [[ugly woman|ugly]] or [[unpleasant woman]]. | ||
- | #: ''I hate that old '''witch'''.'' | ||
- | == Folklore == | ||
- | In the past, it was believed that [[witch]]es used a mixture of [[belladonna]], [[opium poppy]], and other plants, typically poisonous (such as [[monkshood]] and [[poison hemlock]]) in [[flying ointment]] they applied to help them fly to gatherings with other witches. [[Carlo Ginzburg]] and others have argued that flying ointments were preparations meant to encourage hallucinatory dreaming; a possible explanation for the inclusion of belladonna and opium poppy in flying ointments concerns the known antagonism between tropane alkaloids of belladonna (specifically [[scopolamine]]) and opiate alkaloids in the opium poppy, ''[[Papaver somniferum]]'' (specifically morphine), which produces a dream-like waking state. This antagonism was known in folk medicine, discussed in eclectic (botanical) medicine formularies The antagonism between opiates and tropanes is the original basis of the [[Twilight Sleep]] that was provided to [[Queen Victoria]] to deaden pain as well as consciousness during childbirth. | ||
- | == See also == | + | The '''Opium Poppy''', ''Papaver somniferum'', is the type of [[poppy]] from which [[opium]] and many refined opiates, including [[morphine]], [[thebaine]], [[codeine]], [[papaverine]], and [[noscapine]], are extracted. The binomial name means, loosely, the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to its [[narcotic]] properties. The seeds are important food items, and contain healthy oils used worldwide in the [[culinary arts]]. The plant itself is valuable for ornamental purposes, and has been known as the "common garden poppy". It is widely grown in ornamental gardens throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. |
- | *[[Evil woman]] | + | |
- | *[[Sorceress]] | + | |
- | *[[Enchantress]] | + | |
- | *[[Witchcraft]] | + | |
- | *[[Häxan]] | + | |
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The Opium Poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and many refined opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine, are extracted. The binomial name means, loosely, the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to its narcotic properties. The seeds are important food items, and contain healthy oils used worldwide in the culinary arts. The plant itself is valuable for ornamental purposes, and has been known as the "common garden poppy". It is widely grown in ornamental gardens throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.
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