 They have long been used in magic rituals, today also in contemporary pagan practices such as Wicca and Heathenry.However, the so-called "mandrakes" used in this way are not always species of "Mandragora" let alone "Mandragora officinarum"; for example, "Bryonia alba", the English mandrake, is explicitly mentioned in some sources., "Mandragora officinarum" has three or four different circumscriptions (see Taxonomy below).