'Mandrake' is a male LeafWing dragonet who was introduced in The Poison Jungle. He has
leafspeak and formerly served as an insect sorter for the PoisonWings.
He is the son of Wolfsbane, the younger brother of Nettle, and was
formerly betrothed to Sundew.

## Description

Mandrake has dark green wings with thin gold stripes on top and mahogany
brown underneath. He has a nonthreatening, crooked smile.

## Personality

Mandrake is nervous but understanding, admitting that he is not like the
other PoisonWings. He is shifty, quiet, polite, and unconfined, which
troubled his status among his family. He always had to close his eyes,
focus, and breathe, even in the middle of an actual emergency. Mandrake
enjoys caring for the PoisonWings' poisonous insect collection and
seemed to be indifferent about being betrothed to Sundew.

## Biography

### The Lost Continent Prophecy

#### The Poison Jungle

Mandrake was trying to kill a panther while his father, Wolfsbane, and
his sister, Nettle, watched. He was extremely nervous and kept panicking
before he could seize his opportunity. He also took a lot of time to do
it, causing Nettle to complain about how slow he was. When Sundew
trapped the panther for him with her leafspeak in order to save him, he
at first believed he did it and was confused by his success. When Sundew
appeared, he seemed happy to see her, though he was visibly disappointed
that his sister's suspicions that Sundew killed the panther were
confirmed. Mandrake offered to stay with Sundew and her friends while
his father and sister alerted Belladonna|Commander Belladonna of their
presence. While he was with them, he informed the group that he was
Sundew's fiancé.

Later on, Belladonna forcibly assigned Mandrake and Nettle to go with
Sundew, Willow, Cricket, and Bumblebee on their expedition to the Eye of
the jungle to find a LeafWing named Hawthorn.

As soon as Mandrake and Sundew began speeding up the growth of the heart
of salvation, Sundew told him she was not going to marry him. Mandrake
said that he always knew that and that he hoped she would marry Willow.
Later on, Sundew attempted to convince him to organize the LeafWings for
evacuation. At first, he was unsure of his ability, but Sundew persuaded
him to take responsibility. He went back to the PoisonWing
village|PoisonWings village to help with the evacuation.

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### Field Guides

#### A Guide to the Dragon World

Mandrake was interviewed about his favorite literature|book in the
LeafWing chapter of the guide where he shared that his favorite book was
literature#Named books|The Exceptionally Comprehensive Encyclopedia of
Insects for the Discerning Entomologist.

## Relationships

### Nettle

Mandrake is her younger brother, he does not get along with his sister.
He obeys Nettle's orders and seems a bit scared of her at times. As
Mandrake's friendly, non-violent personality clashes with his sister's
aggressive, bossy personality, they are not very often cooperative, but
can work well together on a mission.

### Sundew

Mandrake was formerly Sundew's fiancé. He seemed proud of it, but then
it became more and more apparent as the book progressed that Sundew did
not want to marry Mandrake and wanted to marry Willow instead. Sundew
eventually revealed this to Mandrake, but Mandrake was not surprised and
said that he had always known that. However, Sundew says that Mandrake
is one of the only dragons that she actually likes. Mandrake hoped
Sundew will be happy with Willow and they both will survive to the end.

### Wolfsbane

Mandrake's father, Wolfsbane, is concerned with strengthening Mandrake's
leafspeak powers. However, unlike Nettle, Wolfsbane is shown to be
calmer about the subject, as he believes that Mandrake will indeed
improve in the power of his leafspeak, showing that he does care about
his son.

## Quotes

[Your parents came] Not long before you. […] Maybe half a
day? And only Belladonna and Odollam. Hemlock and the other two were
going to ground near the, uh, the target.
to Sundew

The Poison Jungle
41

-----

Oh wow! Was it amazing? Belladonna said they torched the whole
thing. Flames brushing the clouds! HiveWings screaming with rage!

to Sundew, about the burning of Bloodworm Hive
The Poison Jungle
41

-----

But … all at once? […] I mean … this whole section of the map
is just … snakes. If those are snakes. Maybe they're not. Maybe they're
very tiny rivers.
about the Den of Vipers
The Poison Jungle
189

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Nettle, you are very welcome to kill all the vipers for us.

to Nettle The Poison Jungle

190

-----

It's terrifying, isn't it?
to Sundew
The Poison Jungle
253

-----

I hope you do. […] I hope the antidote works. I hope this
whole horrible thing ends and we all get to live happily ever after.

to Sundew, about marrying Willow and stopping Queen Wasp

The Poison Jungle
254

-----

Yes, […] I'm good at that.
to Sundew about
organizing the LeafWings for evacuation
The Poison Jungle
291