Jamestown-Weed. Jimson-Weed. Thorn-Apple. Common Stramonium
Datura Stramonium, L. Nightshade Family
Stems.—Two or three feet high; stout. Leaves.—Alternate; ovate; coarsely angled; long-petioled. Flowers.—In the forks of the stem; short-pediceled; white. Calyx.—Tubular; angled; five-toothed; over an inch long. Corolla.—Funnel-form; three inches long; with an expanded five-angled border. Stamens.—Five; included. Filaments long and slender; adnate to the corolla below. Style long. Ovary.—Two-celled; each cell nearly divided again. Fruit.—Larger than a walnut; prickly. Hab.—Waste grounds near habitations; introduced.
The jimson-weed, which is a native of Asia, has become quite common in waste places. It is a rank, ill-smelling, nauseating weed, possessing narcotic, poisonous qualities, but its flowers are rather large and showy. The leaves and seeds are made into the drug called “stramonium,” which is used as a remedy in neuralgia, spasmodic cough, and other disorders.
As the plant usually grows by roadsides or in the vicinity of dwellings, children are not infrequently poisoned by its fruit and leaves. The poison manifests itself in dryness of the throat, rapid pulse, and delirium; and even death may ensue, preceded by convulsions and coma.
This plant is also called “mad-apple,” “apple of Peru,” and “Devil’s apple.”
It has a near relative—D. suaveolens, HBK.,—a large shrub with dark-green leaves and very large, pendulous white flowers. This is common in Californian gardens, and is known popularly as “floriponda,” or “angels’ trumpets.” It sheds a powerful fragrance upon the air at night, which is not noticeable by day.