Mandragora autumnalis Mill.
A stemless herbaceous perennial, arising from a thick, fleshy, often forked taproot. Leaves stalked, up to 40 cm long, ovate to oblong, entire, with undulate margin, hairless or almost so, shiny; forming a large, flat rosette. Flowers in a cluster of up to 70 at the centre of the leaf rosette. Corolla 3 to 5 cm long; violet to blue-violet; 5-lobed; pedicels about 10 cm long. The fruit is an orange or yellow berry 2 to 3 cm long.
Local: Very rare in Gibraltar. Found on the range at Windmill Hill Flats.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region.
Flowers from September, October, November to December (January).
It grows on stony and waste ground, waysides and fallow fields.
The root contains a poisonous alkaloid and has been used in folk medicine to relieve pain and induce sleep. The root sometimes has the shape of a human body, and often accorded magical properties. The plant was said to shriek when pulled out of the soil, causing death to whoever did the pulling!