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Datura inoxia
Also called Downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, Moonflower, Nacazcul, Sacred datura, Thorn-apple, Tolguache
Pricklyburr is a tuberous-rooted subshrub of the Nightshade family, typically 0.6 to 1.5 m tall, grown as an annual from seed in most gardens. Its large white night-scented trumpet flowers are the main draw, and every part of the plant is highly poisonous.
Datura innoxia (often spelled inoxia), known as pricklyburr, recurved thorn-apple, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, lovache, moonflower, nacazcul, toloatzin, toloaxihuitl, tolguache or toloache, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is more rarely called sacred datura, a common name which is applied more often to the closely related Datura wrightii. It is native to the Southwestern United States, Central and South America, and introduced in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The scientific name is often cited as D. innoxia. When English botanist Philip Miller first described the species in 1768, he misspelled the Latin word innoxia (inoffensive) when naming it D. inoxia. The name Datura meteloides was for some time erroneously applied to some members of the species, but that name has now been abandoned.
All parts of Datura plants are toxic, containing dangerous levels of tropane alkaloids (hyoscyamine, hyoscine) and may be fatal if ingested by humans and other animals, including livestock and pets. The main observed effects of ingestion are enlarged pupils, dry mouth, trouble breathing, blurred vision, hallucinations, panic, death. In some places, it is prohibited to buy, sell or cultivate Datura plants.
When cultivated, the plant is usually treated as an annual to be grown from seed, but its tuberous roots (somewhat reminiscent of those of the cultivated Dahlia) can be kept from freezing and planted in the spring of the following year.
Desert thorn-apple · Sacred Thorn Apple · Fireweed · Thorn-apple · Sacred thorn-apple · Jimsonweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Datura innoxia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
