hennebane

Updated: July 25, 2026

William Strachey, one of the first colonists, gave the following description of the native plant grown in 1616: It is not of the best kynd, it is but poore and weake, and of a byting tast, it growes not fully a yard above the ground, bearing a little yellowe flower, like to hennebane, the leaves are short and thick, somewhat round at the upper end....

G. Melvin Herndon - Tobacco in Colonial Virginia: "The Sovereign Remedy"