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| Friday 27 Jan 2006: Belladonna |
| The plant Belladonna (literally 'beautiful lady', also known as Deadly Nightshade in English and Wolfskers in Dutch), is one of the most poisonous plants of the Western hemisphere. It derives its name from the Renaissance, when women used eye drops of an extract of belladonna to dilate their pupils, which was (and still is) supposed to be found appealing. Nowadays, ophthalmologists continue to use a diluted belladonna solution to dilate pupils to facilitate eye examinations. |