Moly Mandrake
GRC: μῶλυ
Mandrake plants of the mandragora genus can be identified by their black tapering taproots that are sometimes solitary and sometimes split in two, rosettes of oval leaves on no stalk, and bell-shaped white blossoms consisting of five long petals which form into orange or yellow berries when fertilized. The taproots sometimes resemble humanoid figures. The plants are perennials and are classified as nightshades.
Two species mandrake are found across the land of Hellas, which can only be distinguished from each other by a knowledgable practitioner of pharmakon. The roots of the moly mandrake can be processed into the magical herb, Molly, while the roots of the common autumn mandrake can not.
Collecting moly mandrake with its magical properties intact is a difficult and secretive process.
Moly Mandrake in the Gigantomacy
The plant moly of which Homer speaks had, it is said, grown from the blood of Molios, a Gigante killed on Circe's island of Aiaia. It has a white flower. The ally of Circe who killed the Gigante was her father, Helios. The combat was hard, malos in Greek, from which the name of this plant.Tradition ties the origins of moly to the spilled blood of a giant who had a particular enmity for Helios. For a time during the Gigantomachy, Zeus grounded the sun-chariot of Helios and moon-chariot of Selene to prevent the growth of the newly created mandrakes, lest they become a potent weapon against Olympus. We may assume the blood infused a common mandrake plant with a power that has been passed along to its progeny, which would explain why the two species are only distinguishable by those who are able to detect this power.
Moly Mandrake in the Odyssey
"So saying, the Slayer of Argus [Hermes] gave me the herb, drawing it from the ground, and instructed me in its usage. At the root the plant was black, but its flower was like milk. Moly the daimones call it, and it is hard for mortal men to dig; but with the gods all things are possible. Hermes then departed to high Olympus through the wooded isle, and I went my way to the house of Circe, and many things did my heart darkly ponder as I went."The mandrake in the Odyssey is picked and prepared by Hermes, the task being beyond the abilities of Odysseus to achieve on his own. It's ambiguous as to whether the picking and preparation of the plant were exclusively within the domain of Hermes, whether Hermes was tapping into another daimon's power, or whether the moly may only have been a placebo after all.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Black tapering taproots that are sometimes solitary, sometimes split in two, and sometimes resemble humanoid figures. Rosettes of oval leaves on no stalk give rise to bell-shaped white blossoms consisting of five long petals which form into orange or yellow berries when fertilized.
Genetics and Reproduction
Perennial.
Scientific Name
Mandragora officinarum
Origin/Ancestry
The magical strain of moly mandrake originated on the island of Aiaia.
Conservation Status
Cultivated by practitioners of pharmakon.
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