Flora of North America species comparison

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Datura innoxia

Datura metel

angel's-trumpet, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, pricklyburr

angel's-trumpet
Habit Herbs perennial, to 10 dm, roots tuberous. Herbs perennial, to 20 dm, roots tuberous.
Stems

usually villous-pubescent, sometimes glabrous.

purple in some cultivars, sparsely puberulent, glabrescent.
Leaf

blades ovate, to 22 × 16 cm, margins entire or irregularly sinuate-dentate, surfaces villous to glabrescent, (trichomes spreading, often more dense along veins, sometimes glandular).

blades ovate, to 24 × 20 cm, margins entire or irregularly sinuate-dentate, surfaces puberulent, glabrescent.
Flowers

calyx villous along veins, hairs spreading, tube cylindric, 5-toothed;

corolla white, sometimes lavender- or purple-tinged, funnelform, 10–22 cm, sparsely hairy, glabrescent, acuminate lobes alternating with lobules of similar size.

calyx hairy along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed;

corolla white, yellow, or purple, broadly funnelform, with single, double, or triple whorls, finely puberulent along veins, 11–22 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with smaller lobules (or emarginate).
Capsules

pendent, irregularly dehiscent, pericarp fleshy, hairy, with prickles 10 mm;

calyx remnant slightly accrescent.

pendent, irregularly dehiscent, pericarp fleshy, puberulent, glabrescent, tuberculate;

calyx remnant slightly accrescent.
Seeds

brown, 4–6 mm, convex marginal ridge present, testa smooth;

caruncle present.

brown, 4–6 mm, convex marginal ridge present, testa smooth;

caruncle present.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Datura innoxia

Datura metel
Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct. Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Streamsides, road and trail margins, waste places, desert shrublands, grasslands. Waste places.
Elevation 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; WI; WV; ON; QC; SK; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) [Introduced nearly worldwide]
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; FL; IL; KS; LA; MA; NC; OK; TX; ON; QC; Mexico [Introduced and cultivated nearly worldwide]
Discussion

Datura innoxia is native to Texas and possibly New Mexico. Elsewhere in the flora area, it is widely introduced as an ornamental and, inadvertently, as a weed.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Datura metel is an ornamental and ritual plant that was domesticated in the region of southern Mexico and Central America prior to European contact; it is derived from a common ancestor shared with D. innoxia. Using old Arabic and Indic references as well as iconographic representations from southern India, R. Geeta and W. Gharaibeh (2007) supported the hypothesis that D. metel was transferred to the Old World at least a millennium ago. Plants escaped from cultivation may persist for only a few years.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Datura Solanaceae > Datura
Sibling taxa
D. ceratocaula, D. discolor, D. ferox, D. metel, D. quercifolia, D. stramonium, D. wrightii
D. ceratocaula, D. discolor, D. ferox, D. innoxia, D. quercifolia, D. stramonium, D. wrightii
Synonyms D. meteloides
Name authority Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Datura no. 5. (1768) — (as inoxia) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 179. (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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