Datura inoxia
Mill.
Downy Thorn Apple, Pricklyburr
gbif· cc-by-nc
gamera
gbif· cc-by-nc
ohkaterina
gbif· cc-by-nc
Adrien F.
Description
Datura inoxia is a ANNUAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9 and is frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Edible Uses
Drink. Fruit - ground up and mixed with clay ( the clay probably has a neutralizing effect on the toxins). A very toxic plant, its use as a food cannot be recommended. The fruit is up to 5cm long and 7cm wide. A stupefying beverage is made from the leaves and roots.
Medicinal Uses
Anodyne Antispasmodic Hallucinogenic Hypnotic Narcotic. All parts of the plant are anodyne, antispasmodic, hallucinogenic, hypnotic and narcotic. It has been used in the past as a pain killer and also in the treatment of insanity, fevers with catarrh, diarrhoea and skin diseases. The plant contains several alkaloids, the most active of which is scopolamine. This is a potent cholinergic-blocking hallucinogen, which has been used to calm schizoid patients. The leaves contain 0.52% scopolamine, the calices 1.08%, the stems 0.3%, the roots 0.39%, the fruits 0.77%, the capsules 0.33%, the seeds 0.44% and the whole plant 0.52 - 0.62%. Any use of this plant should be with extreme caution and under the supervision of a qualified practitioner since the toxic dose is very close to the medicinal dose.
Known Hazards
All members of this genus contain narcotics and are very poisonous, even in small doses.
Distribution
South-western N. America.
Where It Grows
NORTHERN AMERICA: United States (Texas), Mexico (Baja California (Norte), Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán) SOUTHERN AMERICA: Hispaniola (natzd.?), Anguilla (natzd.?), Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua (natzd.?)), Bahamas (natzd.?), Barbados (natzd.?), Cuba (natzd.?), Guadeloupe (natzd.?), Jamaica (natzd.?), Martinique (natzd.?), United States (Puerto Rico (natzd.?)), St. Vincent and Grenadines (natzd.?), Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay
Cultivation
Prefers a rich light sandy soil and an open sunny position. It is best grown in a fertile calcareous soil. Plants are not very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -5°c. Plants can be grown outdoors as half-hardy annuals, starting the seed off in a greenhouse. This species is extremely susceptible to the various viruses that afflict the potato family (Solanaceae), it can act as a centre of infection so should not be grown near potatoes or tomatoes. This species is a commercial source of the alkaloid scopolamine, used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Propagation
Sow the seed in individual pots in early spring in a greenhouse. Put 3 or 4 seeds in each pot and thin if necessary to the best plant. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 15°c. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Especially in areas with hot summers, it is worthwhile trying a sowing outdoors in situ in mid to late spring.
Other Uses
Planted throughout the world as an ornamental plant for its attractive large leaves, large white flowers, and distinctive thorny fruit. However, the plant is now considered an invasive species in several locations.
Synonyms
Also Known As
angel's trumpet; hoary thorn-apple; Indian-apple; moonapple; sacred datura; thorn-apple. Spanish: cacaito. French: datura innocente. Arabic: datura; tatoora. Australia: downy thorn-apple; recurved thorn-apple. Brazil: datura-européia; trombeta-branca; trombeteira-branca. China: mao man tuo luo. Korea, Republic of: teoldogmalpul. Mexico: toloache. South Africa: harige stinkblaar. Sweden: mexikansk spikklubba. USA: pricklyburr.
