Deadly Nightshade at Chelsea Physic Garden
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Deadly Nightshade at Chelsea Physic Garden by David Hawgood as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Deadly Nightshade at Chelsea Physic Garden
Image: © David Hawgood Taken: 3 Aug 2009
In the garden there are beds containing plants useful in various areas of medicine - e.g. gastroenterology, dermatology - and two in which Deadly Nightshade is useful - cardiology and opthalmology. In the latter, opthalmic surgeons use atropine from deadly nightshade - Atropa Belladonna - to dilate the pupil for access to the back of the eye. In cardiology, atropine is used to speed up the heart rate. There are many uses in traditional medicine - and as its name implies it is poisonous.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.48464
Longitude
-0.161409