Datura stramonium |
Datura |
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datura, devil's apple or weed, jimson-weed, thorn-apple |
jimson-weed, thorn-apple |
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Habit | Herbs annual, to 15 dm. | Herbs, annual or perennial, taprooted, usually tuberous in perennial species, usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | sometimes purple, sparsely puberulent, glabrescent. |
dichotomously branching. |
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Leaves | blades broadly ovate, to 22 × 12 cm, margins coarsely sinuate-dentate, surfaces glabrescent. |
alternate, sometimes appearing subopposite on flowering branches; blade entire to sinuate-dentate or lobed. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, often appearing leaf-opposed, solitary flowers. |
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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. |
5-merous (erect); calyx cylindric, 5-toothed or splitting irregularly to produce a variable number of unequal teeth, circumscissile in fruit leaving a basal remnant that is slightly accrescent or not; corolla white to purple, radial, funnelform or trumpet-shaped, with 5 acuminate lobes (each subtended by 3 prominent veins) alternating with either lobules or shallow sinuses; stamens equal, inserted in proximal 1/2 of corolla tube; anthers basifixed, linear-oblong, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; ovary 2-carpellate (2- or 4-locular); style filiform, equaling, slightly longer, or shorter than stamens; stigma subcapitate, 2-lobed. |
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Fruits | capsules, 4-valved or irregularly dehiscing, ovoid, (2- or 4-locular, smooth or with prickles or tubercles). |
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Capsules | erect, dehiscent by 4 valves, pericarp dry, glabrous or hairy, with prickles ± equal, to 15 mm; calyx remnant not accrescent. |
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Seeds | black, 3–4 mm, convex marginal ridge absent, testa rugose; caruncle absent. |
40–120(–400), reniform or subreniform (black or tan-brown, with or without convex marginal ridge, some species with a white caruncle). |
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x | = 12. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Datura stramonium |
Datura |
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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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North America; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South 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.) |
Species 14 (8 in the flora). The large flowers and evening fragrance have assured the cultivation of Datura spp., in particular, D. innoxia, D. metel, D. stramonium, and D. wrightii, throughout the world. Nocturnal anthesis lasts only one night in wild species. Some species of Datura are a sacred component of Native American ritual passage and have been employed since pre-Columbian times (W. E. Safford 1922; W. J. Litzinger 1981; C. E. Boyd 2003). Indigenous and Hispanic peoples employ some species in traditional healing practices for treating wounds and inflammations and for psychotropic effects. Tropane alkaloids, of which more than 30 have been reported in Datura (E. Eich 2008), cause delirium. In particular, atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine are responsible for the anticholinergic properties of some pharmaceutical preparations used in treating motion sickness, broncho- and vasoconstriction, and other ailments. Some species of Datura have become worldwide weeds (K. Hammer et al. 1983). The commerce of various crop seeds contaminated by D. stramonium is one of the principal causes of its spread during the last century. Poisonings and deaths from consumption of seeds and/or foliage of Datura spp. are reported for livestock (cattle, horses, swine, and chickens) and humans. Mexico is considered the center of origin and diversification of Datura (D. E. Symon and L. A. R. Haegi 1991). Prior to human settlement, species of Datura native in what is today southwestern United States included D. discolor, D. innoxia, D. quercifolia, and D. wrightii. Pre-Columbian dispersion of D. wrightii (as a sacred and medicinal plant) and of D. stramonium (as a medicinal plant and a weed associated with Mesoamerican agriculture) is related to settlement histories and migration of various indigenous peoples. Pre-Columbian presence of D. metel (R. Geeta and W. Gharaibeh 2007) and D. stramonium (A. Touwaide 1998) in Eurasia is supported by iconographic, literature, and linguistic sources. The polymorphism in trichome morphology (for example, glandular versus non-glandular hairs) and density has been shown to have a genetic basis that responds to selection pressures of insect herbivores (N. M. van Dam et al. 1999). Certain seed characters of taxonomic importance such as caruncles (external food bodies rich in amino acids and sugars, also known as elaiosomes) are key to ant-Datura mutualism and maintenance of wild plants populations (D. J. O’Dowd and M. E. Hay 1980). Because of distinctive patterns of variation, certain species of Datura serve as experimental organisms contributing to understanding chromosome diversity, host plant and herbivore interactions, and relationships between various floral characters and hawkmoth pollinators (A. G. Avery et al. 1959; P. L. Valverde et al. 2001; J. L. Bronstein et al. 2009; respectively). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Solanaceae > Datura | Solanaceae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | D. stramonium var. tatula, D. tatula | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 179. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 179. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 83. (1754) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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