Henbane - Hyoscyamus niger

Henbane is a very hairy, sticky plant that grows up to 75 cm in height. The flowers are 2 to 3cm across and are creamy-yellow and funnel-shaped with a dark purplish centres. The leaves are pointed and the lower ones are toothed.

Provide a photograph of the plant in its habitat (RPR)

Henbane often grows around long-inhabited areas and old fortifications. It is sometimes found on waste ground and prefers sandy soils.

Flowers between June and August.

Usually biennial (occasionally annual) herb.

In Britain, Henbane is localised but sometimes fairly frequent in the south and east of England although rare elsewhere.

Rare and declining in Leicestershire and Rutland although there is a long standing colony at Bradgate Park - the only site where it has been recorded recently.

In the Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi and Evans 1988) it was found in 11 of the 617 tetrads, and in the Flora of Rutland (Messenger 1971) in  3 tetrads.

It is listed on the current VC55 Rare Plant Register (Hall and Woodward 2022) as Locally Rare (i.e. present in less than 3 sites)