Deadly nightshade and John Parkinson
I went along to see the new exhibition in Christ’s Old Library last week and was pleasantly surprised to see a mention of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú there.
The exhibition is named after ‘The theater of plants’ by , written in 1640. An extract from this book says that deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) may be found ‘under °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú wall in Cambridge’. Deadly nightshade can still be found around °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú, especially near the walls by the Housekeeping Department, although it is most easily seen when it flowers in the summer.
This plant may well be a relic from the plants that may have been used in the days of the nunnery as °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú was founded on the site of a 12th century nunnery.
Deadly nightshade from The theater of plants. Photograph courtesy of Christs Old Library.
The nunnery may well have had a medicinal or herb garden and deadly nightshade has been used for centuries for various medicinal purposes, e.g. as an anaesthetic, a hallucinogen and even as a poison; it is mentioned in Culpeper’s Complete Herbal of 1653.
is free and open to all every Tuesday and Thursday 2pm-4pm until 29th June, 2017. Please note the exhibition will close during the student exam period: 5th May – 16th June.
