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henbane

- 4 dictionary results

hen⋅bane

[hen-beyn]
–noun
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 esp. destructive to domestic fowls.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME; see hen, bane
hen·bane   (hěn'bān')   
n.  A poisonous Eurasian plant (Hyoscyamus niger) having an unpleasant odor, sticky leaves, and funnel-shaped greenish-yellow flowers. It is a source of the drug hyoscyamine.

Henbane

Hen"bane`\, n. [Hen + bane.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Hyoscyamus (H. niger). All parts of the plant are poisonous, and the leaves are used for the same purposes as belladonna. It is poisonous to domestic fowls; whence the name. Called also, stinking nightshade, from the fetid odor of the plant. See Hyoscyamus.

Main Entry: hen·bane
Pronunciation: 'hen-"bAn
Function: noun
: a poisonous fetid Old World herb of the genus Hyoscyamus (H. niger) thathas sticky hairy dentate leaves and yellowish brown flowers, contains the alkaloids hyoscyamine and scopolamine, and is the source of hyoscyamus called also black henbane, insane root
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