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We have heard it called jimson weed, ditch weed, mad hatter, loco weed, Korean morning glory, Jamestown weed, thorn apple, angel's trumpet, devil's trumpet, devil's snare, stink weed, devil's seed, crazy tea, malpitte and even zombie cucumber as one person called it one time when they were in my garden.
However, we all know it as Datura or for those who want the Latin name, Datura stramonium. Native to Central America and India, this plant has some pretty interesting things going for it.
It will grow from 1 to 5 feet in height and its stems are quite erect, often forking and are colored purple. The green leaves are large and shaped like 3 to 8 inch oak leaves.
The Datura then decides to grow these amazing egg shaped fruit about the size of a walnut and when they split open they divide into 4 chambers with each chambers containing dozens of small black seeds that will self-sow again. So where do the names jimson weed, ditch weed, mad hatter, loco weed, Korean morning glory, Jamestown weed, thorn apple, angel's trumpet, devil's trumpet, devil's snare, stink weed, devil's seed, crazy tea, malpitte and even zombie cucumber come from? Because all parts of the Datura will give off a terrible foul odor when bruised or crushed.
So why in the world would anyone want to plant this thing? Simply for the large white to purple trumpet-shaped flowers that grow from two to seven inches long, opening and closing at irregular times during the evening infusing it with a lovely fragrance. The nickname for this plant is the moonflower.
Basically, catogarized as an herb, this plant has a history of being used for medicinal purposes since parts of this plant contains scopolamine, atropine and hyoscyamine all of which are extremely dangerous when used by uninformed users.
This is not a flower to have in your garden if you have children running around and playing in it. This is a dangerous plant and when ingested can cause fevers running as high as 105 to 110 degrees and in that range can easily kill one’s brain cells.
It is a popular plant that is often ingested by weird people, as a recreational drug, who like its dream-like side effects that can last for days. Who in the world would want to do this, I do not know, but many have.
So think before you plant this in your garden. I have it growing in my garden simply for the beautiful flower and fragrance, but I stay away from the bad parts of it including making sure I never crush or bruise it as it truly is a stink weed.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABC’s of Wine and Beer Making”. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my site.”
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