Nightshade

Nightshade

Not to be confused with the rank-smelling plant of the same name, the fungal cap from this rare and unusual mushroom may be either crushed or boiled into a tea. The mage must always use great care when handling nightshade, for it is not only a very potent hallucinogenic, but also extremely noxious. It adds illusory or poisonous elements to a spell.

Nightshade could only be found in Ultima IV in the depths of Spiritwood or near the Shrine of Sacrifice, but could be bought in later games at expensive prices. In Ultima IX, it appeared as a leafy plant rather than its historically fungal portrayal.

Lore

Nightshade

ightshade - Not to be confused with the rank-smelling plant of the same name, the Nightshade used in the mystic arts is an extremely rare mushroom that is only found in the deepest, most remote forests. It is said to be quite venomous to the touch of all save those present at its harvest, thus it is never sold in shops and is among the scarcest of magical reagents. To obtain it, one must seek in the deepest forest on the blackest of nights when not even a moonbeam illuminates a single blade of grass. I know not of the precise locations where this mystic fungus can be found, but there are rumored to be those in the lands of Britannia that know this secret. Its chief magical properties are connected with the use of poison and the creation of illusions so real that they can lay the mightiest warrior to the ground. So rare is the Nightshade that it is primarily used in the creation Of only the most potent of magics.

- from The Book of Mystic Wisdom (Ultima IV)

Rare, poisonous plant that appears only when the moons are in a certain conjunction. Those who learn its whereabouts and manage to be there in the dead of night when the moons are full can pick nightshade without danger and benefit from its powerful ability as a reagent to create illusions.

- from The Book of Lore (Ultima V)

Nightshade as seen in Ultima IX

This hallucinogenic mushroom is often the critical ingredient in spells that create illusions or poisonous effects. Sprouting in swamps, and only in the dark of night, this mushroom is easily distinguished from others by the way its stalk bruises when crushed. Retain only the fungal cap and discard the tough stalk. The spores housed in the underside of the cap provide the active ingredient and can be chopped into a fine mincemeat or boiled into a bitter tea.

- from Compendium (Ultima VI)

This plant, found only in swamps, only blooms at night. The fungal cap from this rare and unusual mushroom may be either crushed or boiled into a tea. The mage must always use great care when handling nightshade, for it is not only a very potent hallucinogenic, it is also extremely poisonous.

- from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)

Great care must be taken when preparing this mushroom, for it is highly poisonous. By boiling the caps in tea or crushing the entire fungus, the deadly nightshade transforms into a useful reagent to aid spells designed to damage another individual. Nightshade is found in the soft mud of Gorlab swamp.

- from Beyond the Serpent Pillars (Ultima VII Part Two)

A deadly plant if eaten, nightshade can bind illusions, or if used by different methods, spells of poison. Nightshade is so named for its nocturnal growing habits. Of such rarity is this reagent that few know to begin a search after the day has passed. For they who do, such a search is often futile, as nightshade is only visible by means of spell-magic. Yet, it can be so found throughout the lands

- from Spellbook (Ultima IX)

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Reagents
Britannian	Black Pearl ☥ Blood Moss ☥ Garlic ☥ Ginseng ☥ Mandrake Root ☥ Nightshade ☥ Spider Silk ☥ Sulfurous Ash