Flora of North America species comparison

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Datura ferox

Chinese thornapple, fierce thorn-apple
Habit Herbs annual, to 10 dm.
Stems

puberulent, sometimes glabrescent.
Leaf

blades broadly ovate, to 13 × 8 cm, margins usually sinuate-dentate, sometimes pinnately lobed, surfaces glabrescent.
Flowers

calyx with minute pubescence along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed;

corolla white, trumpet-shaped, 4–6 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with sinuses.
Capsules

erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, sparsely hairy, with prickles unequal, some 15+ mm, proximals shorter than distals;

calyx remnant not accrescent.
Seeds

black, 4–4.5 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose;

caruncle absent.
2n

= 24.

Datura ferox
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Cultivated fields, irrigation ditches, road and trail margins, waste places.
Elevation 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; GA; NC; NV; NY; PA; occasional nearly worldwide [Introduced in North America]
Discussion

The origin and native status of Datura ferox is unresolved, although China has been cited as the country of origin since Linnaeus. The most extensive phytogeographic distribution of this species is in northern Argentina. Its association with ship ballast and seed stock of monocultural crops may explain its local abundance when introduced.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Datura
Sibling taxa
D. ceratocaula, D. discolor, D. innoxia, D. metel, D. quercifolia, D. stramonium, D. wrightii
Name authority Linnaeus: Demonstr. Pl., 6. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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