Flora of North America species comparison

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Datura quercifolia

Datura metel

Chinese thorn-apple, oak-leaf jimsonweed or thorn-apple

angel's-trumpet
Habit Herbs annual, to 8 dm. Herbs perennial, to 20 dm, roots tuberous.
Stems

hairy, sometimes villous.

purple in some cultivars, sparsely puberulent, glabrescent.
Leaf

blades elliptic to narrowly ovate, to 16 × 10 cm, margins usually pinnately lobed, sometimes sinuate-dentate, abaxial surface hairy, adaxial surface glabrescent.

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

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

corolla whitish to purple, trumpet-shaped, 4–8 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with sinuses.

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

erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, glabrous or hairy, with prickles unequal, proximals shorter than distals;

calyx remnant not accrescent.

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

calyx remnant slightly accrescent.
Seeds

black, 3–5 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose;

caruncle absent.

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

caruncle present.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Datura quercifolia

Datura metel
Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct. Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Gardens, cultivated fields, irriga­tion ditches, margins of roads and trails, waste places in various types of vegetation. Waste places.
Elevation 0–2200 m. (0–7200 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; GA; KS; LA; MA; MD; NC; NM; OK; OR; PA; SC; TX; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; FL; IL; KS; LA; MA; NC; OK; TX; ON; QC; Mexico [Introduced and cultivated nearly worldwide]
Discussion

Datura quercifolia is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, where it hybridizes occasionally with introduced D. stramonium. In the flora area, it is native to Texas and possibly New Mexico. Its geographic range is expanding especially in agricultural habitats. Although recently documented in central California (former orange orchard in Riverside; 1984, 1996), it has not expanded its range in that state.

(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. innoxia, D. metel, D. stramonium, D. wrightii
D. ceratocaula, D. discolor, D. ferox, D. innoxia, D. quercifolia, D. stramonium, D. wrightii
Name authority Kunth in A. von Humboldt et al.: Nov. Gen. Sp., 3(fol.): 6; 3(qto.): 7. (1818) 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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