Oriental Henbane, Physochlaina orientalis, a herbaceous perennial flowering plant belonging to the nightshade family, Solanaceae, found principally in the north-western provinces of China and regions adjoining these in the Himalaya and Central Asia.  Rich in tropane alkaloids, the genus Physochlaina has both medicinal, entheogenic and ornamental values.  The name Physochlaina is a compound of the Greek words φυσα (phusa), ‘bladder’ / ‘bubble’ / ‘inflated thing’ and χλαινα ( chlaina ), ‘robe’ / ‘loose outer garment’ / ‘cloak’ / ‘wrapper’ – giving the meaning ‘clad loosely in a puffed-up bladder’ – in reference to the calyces of the plants, which become enlarged and sometimes bladder-like in fruit.  Although it is being called “henbane” in its common name, it is actually different from actual henbane, which is in the Hyoscyamus genus.

I got this plant as a youngling in January 2021. Although it was eager to grow, it had to recover from our Icepocalypse 2021, and was having a bit of hard time adjusting to the Texas heat during summer. It went through a few cycles of growing and dying back, then finally during winter of 2021, it died back completely. At the time, I thought the plant had died, but I left the pot sat outside (instead of recycling the soil).

When spring came around, when I finally got around to clean out old pots and recycle the soil, I was delighted to find some green sprouting underneath the top soil! Almost three weeks later, it has grown considerably, and start putting out flowers!

Physochlaina orientalis prefers well-draining, alkaline soil with medium watering needs. Supposedly it prefers full sun, but I think for warm climate areas like Texas, partial sun should be okay. I’m keeping my plant in my shade house area so it’s protected from the heat and roo much rain.