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Detail of a botanical model of the Atropa Belladonna by French 19th century model-maker Louis Auzoux.
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What does the name of a plant mean?

Atropa belladonna is an intriguing plant! Some call it devil's berries or deadly nightshade because it can be deadly to humans. Interestingly, some animals like rabbits and birds can eat it without getting sick!

Blooming Atropa Belladonna with its bell-shaped flower with purple and green colouration, around 2.5–3cm in length.
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Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian painter from the Renaissance. She painted herself with pretty Belladonna eyes because that was considered beautiful back then. She was one of the first well-known female artists.
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Belladonna beauty

Belladonna means "beautiful woman." Women in the Renaissance used the plant to look prettier. They put tiny drops of juice from the berries and leaves in their eyes to make their pupils bigger and on their cheeks to make them rosier. The Renaissance was a time of great art and science in Europe. Like the woman in this portrait, they wanted to look their best!

Preliminary drawing for a tapestry depicting Petrach’s “Triomph of Death” showing the three fates: Atropos, Lathsis and Cloto. Atropos cuts the thread of life, while, created and spun by Lathis and Cloto
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Inflexible Atropos

Atropos means “inflexible” in Latin. It’s also the name of a Greek goddess. She is one of the three Fates and has the power to decide on life and death. . In the picture above, she is holding a knife to cut the thread of life. If you come across a plant or insect with Atropos in its name, be careful because it might be deadly!

The queen of crime, Dame Agatha Christie, wrote numerous crime mystery books, later adapted on film and TV, where Atropa Belladonna was used to kill the victim.
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Belladonna drops

Atropa belladonna causes the heart to beat very fast and makes it difficult to breathe - it can be deadly. Agatha Christie studied its effects and wrote about it in her books *The Big Four* and *A Caribbean Mystery*. Can you match the detective skills of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and find out which kings and emperors were killed with belladonna?

Poison or remedy?

Glass bottle used by pharmacist in the late 1800s for the concentrated extract of Belladonna.
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500 years ago, a Swiss doctor named Paracelsus saw that whether something is toxic or helpful depends on the dose. A tiny bit of belladonna could make pupils bigger for eye exams or help with stomach cramps and motion sickness.

Advertisement for Belladonna plasters to relieve pain from the late 1800s.
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Advertisment Belladonna Plaster

A long time ago, people used sticky bandages with belladonna on them for pain. We don't use them anymore, as they can make people sick.

Eli Lilly and Company showcased their “Belladonna Culture - Biological Farm” in 1919.
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Drug companies used to grow Atropa belladonna to make medicine. Although some medicines still use parts of the plant, people are now more cautious about safety.

How we learn about plants

  • Herbaria are places and collections where dried and pressed plants are preserved and studied. Many are now accessible online, which means you can look up belladonna specimens from different places and periods. You can also visit a botanical museum or garden to see them in person and talk to scientists who can tell you many exciting facts about this and other plants.
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  • Pretty illustrations like this one were used in books and printed as wall charts. Teachers could use them to help children gain a better understanding of plants, animals, and the environment.
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  • In the 1800s, companies such as Establishments de Dr. Auzoux and Brendel created plant models with detachable parts for schools. Children could use these models to learn. Nowadays, these unique models can be found in museums. School classes can use them to get to know the plant better and to discover how people in the past used to study plants and the environment.
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Herbaria are places and collections where dried and pressed plants are preserved and studied. Many are now accessible online, which means you can look up belladonna specimens from different places and periods. You can also visit a botanical museum or garden to see them in person and talk to scientists who can tell you many exciting facts about this and other plants.

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Dr. Louis Auzoux

A French doctor named Louis Auzoux (1797-1880) wanted to improve the way medicine was taught. He created 3D papier-mâché models of the human body for students. His company became famous around the world. He also made models of plants, which were very popular. Even today, his models are excellent for learning.

Portrait of Dr.Louis Auzoux in 1867, includes in the book of famous French people of the 1800s.
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  • Models were made using recycled cans as a base, which were then covered with paper and repainted. Each base could be utilized for several models.
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  • The stalk was placed on the base. Standard models of stalks were used to construct various plant models.
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  • Green leaves on top of the stalk surround the flower and eventually the berry.
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  • A small hook holds the berry closed.
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  • When the berry is opened, you can see the placenta and the seeds, which are known as “grains” in French.
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  • If you take a closer look, you’ll notice labels on the berry model. You can also take out the seeds to examine them.
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Models were made using recycled cans as a base, which were then covered with paper and repainted. Each base could be utilized for several models.

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Want to know more?

Bibliography

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DR. AUZOUX’ BOTANICAL AND ANATOMICAL MODELS  

Degueurce. (2013). The anatomical models of Dr Auzoux, an industrial success in the service of veterinary medicine. Bulletin de La Société Française d’histoire de la médecine et des sciences vétérinaires, 13, 7–33.  

Cocks, M. M. (2013). Dr Louis Auzoux and his collection of papier-mâché flowers, fruits and seeds. Journal of the History of Collections, 26(2), 229-248. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhc/fht036  

Olszewski. (2011). Dr. Auzoux’s botanical teaching models and medical education at the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part C, Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 42(3), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.01.001  

NATURAL HISTORY MODELS AND LEARNING TOOLS  

Bommel, B. van. (2015). Between "Bildung" and "Wissenschaft": The 19th-Century German Ideal of Scientific Education. European History Online (EGO). Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), Mainz. Retrieved from http://www.ieg-ego.eu/bommelb-2015-en URN: urn:nbn:de:0159-2015120917 [YYYY-MM-DD]. 

Botanical Art & Artists : Past maters of botanical art & illustration. https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/famous-botanical-artists.html

Brazier, J., & Duggins, M. (n.d.). Visualising nature: Models and wall charts for teaching biology in Australia and New Zealand. Recollections. Retrieved from https://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/volume_10_number_2/papers/visualising_nature 

Brendel, M., & Goudeau, S. (2019). Botanical Legacies from the Enlightenment. Retrieved from https://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/irege/files/shared/documents/publications/2019/Brendel_Goudeau_-_Botanical_Legacies_from_the_Enlightenment.pdf

Cooper Hewitt Museum. (2017-2023). Botanical Lessons [Exhibition]. Retrieved from https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/exhibitions/1159161455/ 

Olry, R. (2000). Wax, Wooden, Ivory, Cardboard, Bronze, Fabric, Plaster, Rubber and Plastic Anatomical Models: Praiseworthy Precursors of Plastinated Specimens. The Journal of Plastination, 15(1), 30-35. Retrieved from https://www.journalofplastination.org/issue/volume-15-issue-1 Rossi-Wilcox. (2008). From reference specimen to verisimilitude: the Blaschkas’ penchant for botanical accuracy. Historical Biology, 20(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912960701677432  

ATROPA BELLADONNA-DEADLY NIGHTSHADE 

Campbell, E. A. (2007). DON’T SAY IT WITH NIGHTSHADES: SENTIMENTAL BOTANY AND THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ATROPA BELLADONNA. Victorian Literature and Culture, 35(2), 607–615. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1060150307051662

Fatur, K. (2020). "Hexing Herbs" in Ethnobotanical Perspective: A Historical Review of the Uses of Anticholinergic Solanaceae Plants in Europe. Economic Botany, 74(2), 140-158. doi: 10.1007/s12231-020-09498-w  

Forbes, T. R. (1977). Why is it called 'beautiful lady'? A note on belladonna. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 53(4), 403-406. PMID: 324554; PMCID: PMC1807294.  

Lee, M. R. (2007). Solanaceae IV: Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 37(1), 77-84. PMID: 17575737.  

Murray, W. (1901). The toxic action of belladonna plaster. The Lancet, 158(4078), 1154. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)73581-7 

POWO (2021). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved August 4, 2021, http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org 

Ramoutsaki, I. A., Askitopoulou, H., & Konsolaki, E. (2002). Pain relief and sedation in Roman Byzantine texts: Mandragoras officinarum, Hyoscyamos niger and Atropa belladonna. International Congress Series, 1242, 43-50. doi: 10.1016/S0531-5131(02)00699-4  

Timbrell, J. (2005). The poison paradox: Chemicals as friends and foes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  

POISEONOUS AND HARMFUL PLANTS 

Horticultural Trades Association (2022). HTA Guide to Potentially Harmful Plants. 3rd edition. https://hta.org.uk/resources/get?mediaId=8478 

Levy, J. (2020). Poisonous plants. New York, New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Quattrocchi, U. (2012). CRC world dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants : common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms, and etymology. Boca Raton, Fla: CRC, Taylor & Francis Group.

Copyright and licenses

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Images in the 3D model

Battista Gaulli, Giovanni. Portrait of a Woman. Painting, oil on canvas, 1670s, 75.9 x 59.4 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Álvaro Saieh Bendeck, Jean-Luc Baroni, and Fabrizio Moretti, in honor of Keith Christiansen, 2014. Public Domain. 

Thumbelina next to a glowing toadstool at night in the forest, made by stanley artgerm lau, wlop, rossdraws, artstation, cgsociety, concept art, cgsociety, octane render, trending on artstation, artstationhd, artstationhq, unreal engine, 4k, 8k. AI-Generated Image from Lexica Art.. CC BY-NC 4.0.

Brown, Ford Madox. Romeo and Juliet. Painting, oil on canvas, 1870, 44 x 33cm. Deleware Museum of Art. Wikimedia Common. Public Domain.  

Resources

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Dr. Auzoux

Meet the deadly nightshade in papier-mâché

In the past, kids used to learn about science with papier-mâché models, such as this magnificent model of Atropa belladonna. Made by the French model maker Dr. Auzoux, this lovely plant holds a deadly secret – it is highly poisonous! But don't worry, you don't have to risk your life to learn about it. Take a closer look at the model and uncover the mysteries of this deadly lady!

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Meet the deadly nightshade in papier-mâché