The source of the plant has been described thus: "The human shape of the mandrake root has probably helped to foster, if it did not originate, the weird notion that the plant springs from the drippings of a man hanged on a gallows. Hence in Germany the plant bears the popular name of the Little Gallows Man. It is, or used to be, believed in that country that when a hereditary thief, born of a family of thieves, or one whose mother stole while he was in her womb, is hanged on a gallows, and his seed or urine falls on the ground, the mandrake or Little Gallows Man sprouts on the spot. Others, however, say that the human progenitor of the plant must be, not a thief, but an innocent and chaste youth who has been forced by torture falsely to declare himself a thief and has consequently ended his days on a gallows. Be that as it may, the one thing about which all are agreed is that the Little Gallows Man grows under the gallows tree from the bodily droppings of a hanged man." ( Frazer , p. 9)

The mandrake is also described in medieval herbals, such as British Library Harley MS 4986 (twelfth century) ( Druce translation, adapted): 'If you want to gather the mandrake because of its great health-giving qualities, you shall gather it in this wise. It shines at night like a lamp, and when you see it mark it round quickly with iron lest it escape you. For so strong is this power in it, that if it sees an unclean man coming to it, it runs away. So for this reason mark it round with iron and dig about it, taking care that you do not touch it with the iron; but remove the earth from it with the utmost care with an ivory stake, and when you have seen the foot of the plant and its hands, then you shall at once bind the plant with a new rope, and you shall tie the same round the neck of a hungry dog, and in front of it place food at a little distance, so that in its eagerness to get the food it may pull out the plant. Again you may get it out in another way. Make an apparatus like a mangonel instead and fix in it a tall rod, to the top of which you shall tie a new rope to which also the plant is tied; and you shall make it work as a kind of mousetrap from a distance, when the rod springing back pulls out the plant by its own force. And when you have got it unbroken in your hands, presently store the juice of the leaves in a glass jar, and so will you keep it as a remedy for human beings.' ... There are six cures described. The first is for a head-ache which prevents sleep. For this a salve is made with the juice and applied to the forehead as a plaster, 'when the pain in the head is soon relieved, and sleep will come again quickly.' The second is for pain in the ears. The juice must be mixed with oil of nard and the mixture poured into the ears, 'when the patient will be cured with wonderful quickness.' The third is for a severe attack of gout. You must take of the right hand and the right foot of the mandrake a scruple each and grind it to powder, and administer in wine for seven days, when the patient will be quickly cured; and it causes not only the swelling but also the contraction of the muscles to recover themselves, and so 'both these troubles are cured in a wonderful way as has been proved by the author's experiments.' The fourth cure is for epileptics, that is for persons who have fallen in fits or who suffer from spasms. One scruple of the body of the plant is ground up and given to the patient in hot water, 'as full as the vessel can hold, and immediately he will be cured.' The fifth is for cramp and contraction of the muscles. 'Make a powder, very fine, of the body of this plant and mix it with sweet oil, and smear it upon those persons who have the troubles mentioned.' The sixth cure is interesting. 'If a cold in the head, of a particularly virulent kind, has appeared in the house, the mandrake plant-however little they have of it inside the house-drives away all the infection.'

The mandrake is a plant; its roots grow in human form, male and female, and shriek when torn from the ground. It is of great use in medicine, but anyone who hears the plant's cry dies or goes mad. It was therefore a custom to tie a hungry dog to the plant by a cord and place a piece of meat beyond its reach. To get at the meat the dog tugged at the cord and dragged up the plant, while its master remained safely out of hearing. The mandrake grows in the East, near Paradise. In order to conceive, the female elephant must eat some mandrake root.