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Datura stramonium
| Common name: |
Thorn Apple |
Family: |
Solanaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
204 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
All members of this genus contain narcotics and are very poisonous, even in small doses[200]. |
| Range: |
Original habitat is obscure, it is found in many areas of the world, occasionally in S. Britain[17]. |
| Habitat: |
Dry waste ground and amongst rubble or the ruins of old buildings[7, 204]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 4 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| D. inermis[G]
D. stramonium var. chalybea[G]
D. stramonium var. tatula[B,G,P]
D. tatula[B,G,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Angel's Trumpet [H], Apple Of Peru [H], Buenas Tardes [E], Chamico [E], Chamisco [E], Cocombre Zombie [E], Cojon De Diablo [E], Concombre Zombie [E], Cornicopio [E], Daturah [E], Doornappel [D], Doornappelkruid [E], Estramoni [E], Estramonio [E], Feng Ch'Ieh Erh [E], Figuiero Do Inferno [E], Floribunda [E], Galurt [E], Gemeiner Stechapfel [E], Jamestown Weed [H], Jimson [E], Jimson Weed [L], Jimson_Eed [E], Jimsonweed [H,B,E,P], Man T'O Lo [E], Nafeer [E], Noce Del Diavolo [E], Nongue [E], Opium Tropical [E], Pomme Epineuse [E], Pomme Poison [E], Stinkblaren [E], Stinkweed [H], Stramoine [E], Stramonium [H,L], Tapate [E], Thorn Apple [L], Thorn-Apple [H], Thornapple [H], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Solanales. Potato family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
China; Costa Rica; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Ethiopia; France; France; Germany; Haiti; Hawaii; India; Iraq; Italy; Lesotho; Mexico; Nepal; Netherlands; Nigeria; Peru; Portugal; Sa; South Africa; Spain; Spain(Balearic I); Sudan; Trinidad; Turkey; Us; Us
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmaina, Queensland. |
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 1.5m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Moths.
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
4/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anodyne; Anthelmintic; Antiasthmatic; Antidandruff; Antiinflammatory; Antispasmodic; Hallucinogenic; Hypnotic; Mydriatic; Narcotic.
The thornapple is a bitter narcotic plant that relieves pain and
encourages healing[238]. It has a long history of use as a herbal medicine,
though it is very poisonous and should be used with extreme caution.
The leaves, flowering tops and seeds are anodyne, antiasthmatic,
antispasmodic, hallucinogenic, hypnotic, mydriatic and narcotic[1, 4, 7, 9,
13, 21, 46, 165, 238, 240]. The seeds are the most active medicinally[4]. The
plant is used internally in the treatment of asthma and Parkinson's disease,
excess causes giddiness, dry mouth, hallucinations and coma[238]. Externally,
it is used as a poultice or wash in the treatment of fistulas, abscesses
wounds and severe neuralgia[238, 257]. The use of this plant is subject to
legal restrictions in some countries[238]. It should be used with extreme
caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner since all
parts of the plant are very poisonous and the difference between a medicinal
dose and a toxic dose is very small[21, 213, 238].
The leaves should be harvested when the plant is in full flower, they are
then dried for later use[4].
The leaves can be used as a very powerful mind-altering drug, they contain
hyoscyamine and atropine[213]. There are also traces of scopolamine, a potent
cholinergic-blocking hallucinogen, which has been used to calm schizoid
patients[213]. Atropine dilates the pupils and is used in eye surgery[222].
The leaves have been smoked as an antispasmodic in the treatment for asthma,
though this practice is extremely dangerous[213, 222].
The seeds are used in Tibetan medicine, they are said to have a bitter and
acrid taste with a cooling and very poisonous potency[241]. Analgesic,
anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory, they are used in the treatment of stomach
and intestinal pain due to worm infestation, toothache and fever from
inflammations[241].
The juice of the fruit is applied to the scalp to treat dandruff[243].
Other Uses
Hair; Repellent.
The growing plant is said to protect neighbouring plants from
insects[18, 20].
The juice of the fruits is applied to the scalp to cure dandruff and falling
hair[243].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in most moderately good soils but prefers a rich light sandy
soil or a calcareous loam, and an open sunny position[1, 4, 200].
Plants often self-sow when well sited[1].
The thornapple is cultivated commercially as a medicinal plant[57]. It can
become a weed in suitable conditions and is subject to statutory control in
some countries[238].
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[200].
Grows well with pumpkins[20].
The whole plant gives off a nauseating stench[245].
Propagation
Sow the seed in individual pots in early spring in a greenhouse[200].
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.
Scent
-
Plant: Crushed
- The whole plant gives off a nauseating stench.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for datura stramonium (a possible synonym).
References for the family Solanaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[204] Livingstone. B. Flora of Canada National Museums of Canada 1978 ISBN 0-660-00025-3
In 4 volumes, it does not deal with plant uses but gives descriptions and habitats.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[241] Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994 ISBN 81-900489-0-2
A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.
[243] Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993
Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Datura+stramonium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Datura+stramonium
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