of the painting was hypothetically identified as the fruit of Datura stramonium by the art historian David Bellingham. This plant, often referred to as "poor man's acid", has properties likened to a mixture of opium and alcohol, and may cause fainting or drowsiness as its effects wear off. Others question how this plant, normally considered a native only of North America, might have reached Italy by the 1480s, and dismiss the idea. However, in 2017 the National Gallery website endorsed the identification as a "thorn apple". Bellingham suggests that the growing plant in the bottom right corner is a species of aloe, credited by the Greeks with medicinal powers, as well as offering protection against evil spirits and enhancing sexual excitement. Bellingham proposes several layers of identification for the figures, generating different meanings. These include the couple as Adam and Eve. Possible models As with many other of Botticelli's secular paintings, leading figures from Florentine high society have been proposed as the models for the figures. Giuliano di Piero de' Medici has been proposed as the athletic model for Mars and, almost inevitably, it has been suggested that Venus has the face of Simonetta Vespucci, a great beauty of the time, married to the cousin of Amerigo Vespucci. Giuliano di Piero de' Medici's candidacy as a model for Mars is somewhat problematic as he was assassinated in 1478, which is 5 years prior to the earliest date of the painting creation (1483). Simonetta Vespucci has been suggested as the model or inspiration for a great number of Botticelli's beauties, whose features by no means all have a close resemblance to each other. Wilhelm von Bode (d. 1929) first proposed the pair as the models in this painting; in his interpretation, Mars is tired after jousting, and Venus appears to him in a dream, as his prize. Giuliano had chosen Simonetta as his "lady" in a famous joust in 1475, organized by his older brother Lorenzo de' Medici ("Lorenzo il Magnifico"), the effective ruler of Florence to celebrate a treaty with Venice and Milan. This lavish public show was commemorated in the poem by Poliziano, the Medici court poet, known as the Stanze or la Giostra ("Verses" or "The Joust"), giving a detailed account, including a description of Giuliano's banner with an image of Pallas Athene, which was painted by Botticelli. Many later commentators have probably taken this scripted display of