Downy Thorn Apple, Pricklyburr
Datura inoxia
Family: Solanaceae
What it is like
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.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Sandy or gravelly dry open places below 1200 metres in California.
South-western N. America.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Africa, Asia, Australia, Botswana, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sudan, Syria, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
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.
Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.
Medicine
Rating: 3
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.
Anodyne: Relieves pain, it is milder than an analgesic.
Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.
Hallucinogenic: Causes the mind to hallucinate.
Hypnotic: Induces sleep.
Narcotic: Relieves pain, induces drowsiness and gives a sense of well-being.
Other
Rating: 1
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.
How it is grown
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.
Propagating it: 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.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: 8-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
All members of this genus contain narcotics and are very poisonous, even in small doses.
Invasive in the Galapagos islands, New Caledonia, mainland China and Taiwan, and in South Africa and Namibia. It is widely naturalized in the tropics and increasingly in temperate Europe and North America. D. innoxia has been listed as a Declared Weed in South Africa which is prohibited and must be controlled
Its other names
Local names
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.
Synonyms
D. meteloides. DC.