The naming of plants is an interesting process.

Plants usually have two names: their two-part scientific name based on taxonomic classification and a common name usually developed regionally.

As people began to name plants, they used outstanding characteristics of the plant, such as smell, for example, skunk cabbage, or a texture like lamb’s ear or chenille plant.

Plant names such as bleeding heart and bird of paradise mirror parts of the human anatomy or other living things.

And then some common names tell the darker story of plants.

Last week’s column talked about Blood Root and Dead Man’s Fingers. Here’s continuing with the theme for October and Halloween.

Deadly Nightshade: An old woman in a pointy hat, crook nosed with gnarly fingers, offers berries to a child. The fruit is sweet, shiny and black.

Clichés of witches are deeply folded into the dark folklore of deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna. Murder, assassination, wanton sexuality and hallucinatory experience are all elements of its sinister history.

A perennial, deadly nightshade grows up to four feet with simple, alternate leaves and drooping, purplish-green bell-shaped flowers.

As the name suggests, all parts of deadly nightshade are toxic.

Native to Great Britain, parts of Europe, North Africa and Iran, it has also naturalized in several states.

It can be found in shady sites, often where the ground has been disturbed.

Fatalities of children who’ve eaten the berries are not infrequent.

While touching the plant causes blisters, deadly nightshade, in small doses, has been used for medical and cosmetic purposes, even in ancient times.

In the 1830s, chemists began to isolate the potent tropane alkaloids found in Atropa belladonna and other plants.

In combination with morphine, compounds from deadly nightshade produced a “twilight sleep” that allegedly soothed pain and discomfort associated with childbirth. Queen Victoria received the remedy.

Although the berries might be the most tempting part of deadly nightshade, all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested.

It causes a range of symptoms, including blurred vision, a rash, headaches, slurred speech, hallucinations, convulsions and can even cause death.

Doll’s Eyes: What could be watching you when you hike in the forest?

Looking around the understory deep in the woods, you may find many pairs of eyes staring at you.

White baneberry, Actaea pachypoda, also known as doll’s eyes, is a native woodland flower.

The “eyes” are the shiny white berries, centered with a large black dot, produced in late summer. Because the berries resemble an old-fashioned doll’s eyes, the plant received the nickname doll’s eyes.

The berries are clustered on a pinkish purple stem adding to the plant’s otherworldliness.

After you get over being startled by the many pairs of eyes, the question usually is: “Are the berries edible?”

You find the answer in its other common name, white baneberry. The word “bane” in plant names means stay away.

All parts of the doll’s eye plant are poisonous, especially the roots and berries. Large quantities may cause cardiac arrest or respiratory paralysis if consumed.

The plant contains a glycoside that causes severe symptoms, including burning in the mouth and throat, dizziness, stomach cramps and ultimately death.

During an encounter, it is best to simply stare at a doll’s eye plant as all its eyes stare back at you.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613.