henbane

American  

[hen-beyn] / ˈhɛnˌbeɪn /

noun

1. an Old World plant, Hyoscyamus niger, of the nightshade family, having sticky, hairy fetid foliage and greenish-yellow flowers, and possessing narcotic and poisonous properties especially destructive to domestic fowls.

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henbane British  

/ ˈhɛnˌbeɪn /

noun

1. a poisonous solanaceous European plant, Hyoscyamus niger, with sticky hairy leaves and funnel-shaped greenish flowers: yields the drug hyoscyamine

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Etymology

Origin of henbane

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at hen, bane

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

henbane

The sealed container, full of nothing but henbane seeds, is solid proof people at the site were collecting, using, and probably cultivating the plant.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 7, 2024

The Solanaceae family is a vast one with more than 2,500 members including tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers, tobacco, deadly nightshade and henbane.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023

We don’t know if Leonidas’s performance was enhanced by ingestion of Pythia gases or black henbane because no records survive from the ancient version of the Greek antidoping agency.

From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2016

A Babylonian clay tablet advises treating the pain of a burrowing 'tooth worm', which is thought to be the cause of caries, by plugging the hole with gum mastic and powdered henbane seeds.

From Nature ● Jul. 12, 2016

“Juice of henbane, black and deadly,” she said.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein