One day, Leah's firstborn son Reuben returns from the field with mandrakes for his mother. Throughout history mandrakes ("Mandragora officinarum") have been highly sought after for their reputed aphrodisiac properties. In the fourth reading (, "aliyah"), Reuben found some mandrakes and brought them to Leah. Within the genus, studies have used different circumscriptions of the Mediterranean mandrakes. Members of the genus are known as mandrakes. The plants from which the root is obtained are also called "mandrakes". Mandrakes are involved in many myths and superstitions.