What is belladonna?

Answer 1

Belladonna is a highly toxic plant, that grows in Europe. It's botanical name is Atropa belladonna. Another name for it is deadly nighshade.

Children can die from eating two to six berries. The poison in belladonna brings your heartbeat up, killing you that way. However, foxglove(not belladonna), brings your heartbeat down. So, in theory, foxglove can be used as an antidote for belladonna, and vice versa. However, it is not advisable, as you could mess up, and kill the person anyway.

Belladonna is called belladonna because belladonna is Italian for 'beautiful lady', and in the olden days ladies used to squeeze the juice from the berries into their eyes, thus making their pupils dilate and look larger. The ladie though that looked beautiful. The poison that does that is called atropine, and is still used today to examine eyes.

Sorry for the long explaination. That's just me. And I am only eleven. And I just remembered that off the top of my head, I didn't just read a book.

Answer 2

A belladonna is a plant with purple bell-shaped flowers and poisonous black berries - also known as the deadly nightshade.