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Mandrakes (mandragora) are mentioned in the Bible as an aid to fertility (cf. Genesis 30:14), but what exactly are mandrakes? I hear they are poisonous, have narcotic properties, or aid with fertility.

Are they edible raw, cooked only (like rhubarb), or neither? If they are edible, does one eat their roots, leaves, or both?

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    Did you try to google it?? See en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandragora_officinarum. They are hallucinogenic and narcotic. In sufficient quantities, it induces a state of unconsciousness and delirium. Relevance to fertility is pure folklore.
    – Aganju
    Aug 7, 2017 at 1:14
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    In other words, don't eat them.
    – GdD
    Aug 7, 2017 at 7:51
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    You can buy mandrake extract, but as most would agree this is not a safe substance to cook with. The mandrake extract is used in the Basque liqueur Mandrágora for example.
    – Ken Graham
    Aug 7, 2017 at 11:36

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