Datura ferox
Datura stramonium
Chinese thornapple, fierce thorn-apple
datura, devil's apple or weed, jimson-weed, thorn-apple
puberulent, sometimes glabrescent.
sometimes purple, sparsely puberulent, glabrescent.
blades broadly ovate, to 13 × 8 cm, margins usually sinuate-dentate, sometimes pinnately lobed, surfaces glabrescent.
blades broadly ovate, to 22 × 12 cm, margins coarsely sinuate-dentate, surfaces glabrescent.
calyx with minute pubescence along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed;
corolla white, trumpet-shaped, 4–6 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with sinuses.
calyx hairy along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed;
corolla usually white, sometimes purplish, trumpet-shaped, (5–)6–11 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with sinuses.
erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, sparsely hairy, with prickles unequal, some 15+ mm, proximals shorter than distals;
calyx remnant not accrescent.
erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, glabrous or hairy, with prickles ± equal, to 15 mm;
calyx remnant not accrescent.
black, 4–4.5 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose;
caruncle absent.
black, 3–4 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose;
caruncle absent.
= 24.
= 24.
Datura ferox
Datura stramonium
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.)
Although a weed found throughout the world, Datura stramonium is probably native to central and southern Mexico and accompanied the expansion of Mesoamerican agriculture. Based upon a revised interpretation of ancient Latin and Greek texts, A. Touwaide (1998) argued that it was known in the Old World prior to the discovery of the New World in 1492. The delirious consequences of the British soldiers’ consumption of young leaves at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1676 led to the application of the common name of jimsonweed to D. stramonium (R. Beverley 1705).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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