Fans of the books about the young wizard know perfectly well that many potions at Hogwarts were made on the basis of magical plants. However, in dreaming them up, J.K. Rowling drew inspiration from her own garden – and not only it. So the prototypes of the mystical herbs were Muggle plants – here are some of them.
The screaming mandrake
As scientists have discovered, vegetables – tomatoes, tobacco, corn, and grapes – really can scream, sending distress signals when they are picked. This is very much like the behavior of the mandrake from Professor Sprout's collection – it shrieks when it is pulled out of the ground, and the shriek of a mature plant can be deadly.
But surely everyone knows, including from the Sherlock Holmes stories, that the mandrake plant actually exists and, if the superstitions are to be believed, really does scream when it is dug up. This, of course, is a myth, but the roots of the mandrake really do resemble tiny little people. Moreover, they have hallucinogenic and anesthetic properties.
Sneezing powder – tobacco
In the Harry Potter universe, magical sneezing powder could be bought at Zonko's joke shop. In the real world, tobacco has the same properties – it is a wonderful plant that feels great both at home in a pot and in the garden bed.
Tobacco leaves were historically used to make people sneeze: our ancestors were convinced that this was a way to drive out evil spirits. By the way, you can also buy «sneezing» powder now, but it is made not from tobacco, but from starch, talc, black pepper, and menthol.
Aconite
In the magical world, aconite is the main ingredient of the Wolfsbane Potion, which prevents transformation into a werewolf. It was precisely this that Remus Lupin used in the book «Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban» to keep his human mind and form during the full moon.
In the ordinary world, wolfsbane aconite is a perfectly real plant that in the Middle Ages was used to ward off werewolves. The inhabitants of Old Europe sincerely believed that the herb was capable of this.
But in reality wolfsbane aconite is simply deadly poisonous. It must not be chewed or even touched – in 2014 a 33-year-old gardener died while weeding aconite without gloves.
Devil's Snare
This is a long vine that can catch and strangle a person – Harry, Ron, and Hermione were held captive by one.
In the real world there is a similar plant, but not nearly as powerful – Datura stramonium. It is found in South Africa and is distinguished by its hallucinogenic properties: the plant can cause blurred vision and visions, and if it gets into the body – a coma and even death.
Like its magical version, the Muggle world's «devil's snare» hates light and opens up only at night, attracting bats and night-flying moths.
Mimbulus Mimbletonia
In the Potter universe, this was the name of a plant resembling a cactus that, if its magical properties were activated, spurted out an incredibly foul-smelling green liquid. Its counterpart in the real world is Stapelia grandiflora, which is called the carrion plant and the «starfish» cactus, although in fact it is not a cactus but a succulent. But it looks similar.
The stapelia blooms with large, bright flowers that emit an indescribably nasty smell – the smell of carrion, hence the name. With such an aroma the plant attracts flies, which pollinate it.
