5 things we learned from Harry Potter: A History of Magic

Mandrakes and sneezewort are very real plants

Sneezewort is mentioned very briefly in the Harry Potter series, as an ingredient in a Befuddlement Draught. But it is a very real plant that can be used to treat everything from joint and muscle pain to diarrhea.

Rowling’s use of plants with medicinal properties in the novels is based on a book by Nicholas Culpeper, the Complete Herbal (1653). Rowling owns two copies of the book, which is second only to the Bible in terms of how long it has been in print. And like the Bible, much of its success is down to translation.

Previously, such knowledge of herbal remedies was kept secret by the College of Physicians, but Culpeper translated and printed the book so that it could be given to the masses, so that they may treat themselves, instead of paying astronomical doctors’ fees. Interestingly, Culpeper himself was accused of being a witch.

Mandrakes also have a basis in fact, although the drawings at the British Library, of a naked man with leaves sprouting from his head, are very different from those featured in the Harry Potter books. Real mandrakes aren’t very common anymore, but they do have hallucinogenic properties.

“I tried to steer away from hallucinogenic drugs at Hogwarts, I just felt that was wisest,” Rowling jokes. “There was enough going on. Obviously they didn’t need drugs to make life exciting.”