Datura stramonium

Published: 15.08.2010
Updated: 17.01.2012
Alias(es)
Dhatura, Dhaturā

Dhatura

The genus name is derived from dhatura, an ancient Hindu word for a plant. Stramonium is originally from Greek, strychnos (nightshade) and manikos (mad).

Datura stramonium, known by the common names jimson weed, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, thorn apple, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, datura, moonflower[1], and, in South Africa, malpitte and mad seeds, is a common weed in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.

It is an erect annual herb forming a bush up to 3–5 ft (1–1.5 m) tall.[2] The leaves are soft, irregularly undulate, and toothed. The fragrant flowers are trumpet-shaped, white to creamy or violet, and 2.5 to 3.5 in. long. They rarely open completely. The egg-shaped seed capsule is walnut-sized and either covered with spines or bald. At maturity it splits into four chambers, each with dozens of small black seeds.

Parts of the plant, especially the seeds and leaves, are sometimes used as an hallucinogen. Due to the elevated risk of overdose in uninformed users, many hospitalizations, and some deaths, are reported from this use.

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