Datura: Angel's Trumpet or Devil's Apple?

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Aug 1, 2002

But whom do you blame for the will in you
That feeds itself and makes you dock-weed
Jimpson, dandelion or mullen
And which can never use any soil or air
So as to make you jessamine or wisteria?
from "Calvin Campbell" by Edgar Lee Masters

Masters would probably be surprised to learn that the once lowly "Jimpson" (or Jimsonweed) has been transformed into a garden flower as exotic and sweet-scented as jessamine and wisteria. Datura and its twin, brugmansia, were all the rage on garden forums a couple years back. Fads don't last long, however, and the current big thing seems to be unusual morning glories.

Still, datura boasts some of the largest and showiest blooms available on an easy-to-grow annual. Those trumpet-shaped flowers open in the evening to attract moths, and usually remain fresh into the following morning--until the day heats up. I've grown several varieties, and think the prettiest is the double purple, sometimes known as Blackcurrant Swirl. Datura discolor, a single white type with a purple center, is also striking.

The recent popularity of the daturas has sparked a running debate about the differences between them and the brugmansias. If what I've learned is correct, daturas are all annuals or short-lived perennials with no woody growth. Their round, spiny seedpods burst open when ripe, and their blooms face upwards. Brugmansias, on the other hand, grow into woody perennial shrubs or trees in tropical climes. Their blooms dangle downwards, and their longer, narrower, smooth seedpods must be broken open. The "brugs" may all be descendants of the South American tree datura known as arborea.

Daturas tend to have white, purple, or yellow flowers. The brugmansias steer clear of purple, but also run to several shades of orange and pink--even two reds (sanguinea and one of the suaveolens). Although rumors persist that there was once a red datura, it is possible that the plant indicated was really a brug.

Daturas and brugmansias seem to be similar in all other aspects. Both contain the same poisons as belladonna, another member of the solanum family. Those toxins include hyoscyamine, scopolamine (the so-called "truth serum"), and atropine.

The name derives from the Hindu "Dhatura," which was applied to the native type in India--fastuosa, AKA tatorea. Although most other daturas seem to have originated in the Americas, stramonium (the infamous Jimsonweed) is also native to parts of Europe and ferox to China. Stramonium combines the Greek strychnos ("nightshade") and manikos ("mad"). Other nicknames for datura include thorn-apple, devil's apple, devil's trumpet, angel's trumpet, stinkweed, green dragon, apple of Peru, and toloache (the latter probably referring only to datura innoxia).