Datura stramonium |
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datura, devil's apple or weed, jimson-weed, thorn-apple |
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Habit | Herbs annual, to 15 dm. |
Stems | sometimes purple, sparsely puberulent, glabrescent. |
Leaf | blades broadly ovate, to 22 × 12 cm, margins coarsely sinuate-dentate, surfaces glabrescent. |
Flowers | calyx hairy along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed; corolla usually white, sometimes purplish, trumpet-shaped, (5–)6–11 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with sinuses. |
Capsules | erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, glabrous or hairy, with prickles ± equal, to 15 mm; calyx remnant not accrescent. |
Seeds | black, 3–4 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose; caruncle absent. |
2n | = 24. |
Datura stramonium |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Gardens, cultivated fields, irrigation ditches, pastures, road and trail margins, waste places. |
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Mexico [Introduced in North America; introduced nearly worldwide]
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Discussion | 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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | Solanaceae > Datura |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | D. stramonium var. tatula, D. tatula |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 179. (1753) |
Web links |
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