Belladonna Crisp – Atropa belladonna
https://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Belladonna_Crisp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropa_belladonna
Belladonna Crisp is the Headmistress of the rival school, Pigswick Academy. She is a strict person who believes that a fountain, located near the Tournament Arena, is the magical source of power for Wizards and not Bartleby, the Grandfather Tree. She also believes that Headmaster Merle Ambrose and the teachers of Ravenwood have taught your wizard the wrong idea about magic and says that Pigswick is the “perfect” school. Note Belladonna is the Italian word for “Beautiful Woman”
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. Its distribution extends from Great Britain in the west to western Ukraine and the Iranian province of Gilan in the east. It is also naturalized or introduced in some parts of Canada and the United States.
The foliage and berries are extremely toxic when ingested, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, which cause delirium and hallucinations.
Atropa belladonna has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Known originally under various folk names (such as “deadly nightshade” in English), the plant was baptized Atropa belladonna by Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) when he devised his classification system. Linnaeus chose the genus name Atropa because of the poisonous properties of these plants. Atropos (lit. “unturning one”). Linnaeus chose the species name belladonna (“beautiful woman” in Italian) in reference to the cosmetic use of the plant during the Renaissance, when women used the juice of the berries in eyedrops intended to dilate the pupils and make the eyes appear more seductive. (please note Ms. Crisp’s large pupils)
(Atropa belladonna)
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Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Belladonna Crisp image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
Belladonna botanical illustration is borrowed from Studio Lindlu and is (c)2018 Linda Lubbersen
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
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