A long time ago, I saw a movie laid in Florida in which the plot called for an Indian to be so terrorized by threat of tying him in contact with a plant called 'Manchineel' that agrred to be cooperative. He really acted as though contact with the plant would be unendurable.
Today I found a site describing this plant, which is found in three counties in Florida - Miami,Dade, and Monroe. You have to scroll three quarters of the way down to find the heading The Little Apple that Makes Horses Mad :http://www.fnps.org/dade/pastnewslets/newslet911.html

There are few apples that make horses mad--most make them happy. But what a great read that was, wwh! Thanks for providing the link. Brings new meaning to "sapped energy"--cause: caustic.

Weren't mandrakes used in some romantic poem? Different, of course.

I must note, from the site: "Hippomane mancinella, in the Spurge Family (Euphorbiaceae)"--Euphoric over any reminder of hippos...

Beast regards,
WordWatamus

Weren't mandrakes used in some romantic poem?
Reminds me of a true story I read about the mandrake plant approximately a year ago. In the Middle East somewhere, Palestine, I think, the mandrake plant grows wild and it has a reputation for promoting fertility going back to biblical times. Anyway, an enterprising individual labored for years to create a drinkable liqueur flavored with the mandrake plant. He called it "Mandragora", the original Greek name for the mandrake plant, and he displayed the plant prominently on the bottle's label. In no time at all, Mandragora had acquired a reputation as an aphrodisiac and the inventor had trouble keeping the product in stock. Men and women of all ages attested to its success in reinvigorating their marital relationships. Is that the "romantic" story you were thinking of, Wordwind? As I recall, the headline over the story read: "Viagra of the Valley". I'm sure the placebo effect is at work here, rather than the mandrake plant itself, but I read somewhere that Viagra barely beat the placebo effect in its own clinical trials.

Gosh, and I had heard it was head and shoulders above the placebo!

Well, maybe not shoulders.

My dictionary gives as first meaning of "placebo" as "The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead....
But Viagra is supposed to bring the dead back to life.

Dear wwh: So true. Brings new meaning to "Night of the Living Dead," produced in the second honeymoon cottage at Viagra Falls.

(Are we on Q&A? Whoops!)...nope, just checked.

DubDub