Datura stramonium

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This article is about the hallucinogenic "loco weed". For the plant toxic to
livestock, see Locoweed.
Jimson weed
Toloache
Datura stramonium 2 (2005 07 07).jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:

Plantae

(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order:Solanales
Family:

Solanaceae

Genus:

Datura

Species:

D. stramonium

Binomial name
Datura stramonium
L.
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy[show]
Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed or Devil's
snare, is a plant in the nightshade family. It is believed to have originated in
Mexico,[2] but has now become naturalized in many other regions.[3][4][5]
Other common names for D. stramonium include thornapple and moon
flower,[6] and it has the Spanish name Toloache.[7] Other names for the plant
include hell's bells, devils trumpet, devils weed, tolguacha, Jamestown
weed, stinkweed, locoweed, pricklyburr, and devils cucumber.[8]

Datura has been used in traditional medicine to relieve asthma symptoms

and as an analgesic during surgery or bonesetting. It is also a powerful

hallucinogen and deliriant, which is used spiritually for the intense visions it
produces. However, the tropane alkaloids responsible for both the medicinal
and hallucinogenic properties are fatally toxic in only slightly higher amounts
than the medicinal dosage, and careless use often results in hospitalizations
and deaths.

Contents [hide]
1

Description

Range and habitat

Toxicity

Use in traditional medicine

Spiritual uses

Cultivation

Etymology

References

External links

Description[edit]
Datura stramonium is a foul-smelling, erect, annual, freely branching herb
that forms a bush up to 60 to 150 cm (2 to 5 ft) tall.[9][10][11]

The root is long, thick, fibrous and white. The stem is stout, erect, leafy,
smooth, and pale yellow-green. The stem forks off repeatedly into branches,
and each fork forms a leaf and a single, erect flower.[11]

The leaves are about 8 to 20 cm (38 in) long, smooth, toothed,[10] soft, and
irregularly undulated.[11] The upper surface of the leaves is a darker green,
and the bottom is a light green.[10] The leaves have a bitter and nauseating
taste, which is imparted to extracts of the herb, and remains even after the
leaves have been dried.[12]

Datura stramonium generally flowers throughout the summer. The fragrant

flowers are trumpet-shaped, white to creamy or violet, and 6 to 9 cm (2 123
12 in) long, and grow on short stems from either the axils of the leaves or the

places where the branches fork. The calyx is long and tubular, swollen at the
bottom, and sharply angled, surmounted by five sharp teeth. The corolla,
which is folded and only partially open, is white, funnel-shaped, and has
prominent ribs. The flowers open at night, emitting a pleasant fragrance, and
are fed upon by nocturnal moths.[11]

The egg-shaped seed capsule is 3 to 8 cm (13 in) in diameter and either

covered with spines or bald. At maturity, it splits into four chambers, each
with dozens of small, black seeds.[11]

Datura stramonium - Khlers Medizinal-Pflanzen-051.jpg

Fruits and seeds - MHNT

Range and habitat[edit]
Datura stramonium is native to North America, but was spread to the Old
World early. It was scientifically described and named by Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus in 1753, although it had been described a century earlier by
herbalists, such as Nicholas Culpeper.[13] Today, it grows wild in all the
world's warm and moderate regions, where it is found along roadsides and at
dung-rich livestock enclosures.[14][15][16] In Europe, it is found as a weed
on wastelands and in garbage dumps.[14]

The seed is thought to be carried by birds and spread in their droppings. Its
seeds can lie dormant underground for years and germinate when the soil is
disturbed. People who discover it growing in their gardens, and are worried
about its toxicity, have been advised to dig it up or have it otherwise
removed.[17]

Toxicity[edit]
Main article: Datura Toxicity
All parts of Datura plants contain dangerous levels of the tropane alkaloids
atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine, which are classified as deliriants, or
anticholinergics. The risk of fatal overdose is high among uninformed users,
and many hospitalizations occur amongst recreational users who ingest the
plant for its psychoactive effects.[14][18]

The amount of toxins varies widely from plant to plant. As much as a 5:1
variation can be found between plants, and a given plant's toxicity depends
on its age, where it is growing, and the local weather conditions.[14]
Additionally, within a given datura plant, toxin concentration varies by part
and even from leaf to leaf. When the plant is younger, the ratio of
scopolamine to atropine is about 3:1; after flowering, this ratio is reversed,
with the amount of scopolamine continuing to decrease as the plant gets
older.[19] In traditional cultures, a great deal of experience with and detailed
knowledge of Datura was critical to minimize harm.[14] An individual datura
seed contains about 0.1 mg of atropine, and the approximate fatal dose for
adult humans is >10 mg atropine or >24 mg scopolamine.[20]

Datura intoxication typically produces delirium (as contrasted to

hallucination), hyperthermia, tachycardia, bizarre behavior, and severe
mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days.
Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect.[21] The onset of
symptoms generally occurs around 30 to 60 minutes after ingesting the herb.
These symptoms generally last from 24 to 48 hours, but have been reported
in some cases to last as long as two weeks.[22]

As with other cases of anticholinergic poisoning, intravenous physostigmine

can be administered in severe cases as an antidote.[23]

Use in traditional medicine[edit]

D. stramonium var. tatula, flower (front)

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine in India, datura has long been used for
asthma symptoms. The active agent is atropine. The leaves are generally
smoked either in a cigarette or a pipe. During the late 18th century, James
Anderson, the English Physician General of the East India Company, learned
of the practice and popularized it in Europe.[24][25]

John Gerard's Herball (1597) states that "the juice of Thornapple, boiled with
hog's grease, cureth all inflammations whatsoever, all manner of burnings
and scaldings, as well of fire, water, boiling lead, gunpowder, as that which
comes by lightning and that in very short time, as myself have found in daily
practice, to my great credit and profit."[26]

The Zuni once used datura as an analgesic, to render patients unconscious

while broken bones were set.[27] The Chinese also used it in this manner, as
a form of anaesthesia during surgery.[28]

Spiritual uses[edit]

Datura seedpod, opening up to release seeds inside

The ancient inhabitants of what is today central and southern California used
to ingest the small black seeds of datura to "commune with deities through
visions".[29] Across the Americas, other indigenous peoples such as the
Algonquin, Navajo, Cherokee, Marie Galente, and Luiseo also used this plant
in sacred ceremonies for its hallucinogenic properties.[30][31][32] In
Ethiopia, some students and debtrawoch (lay priests), use D. stramonium to
"open the mind" to be more receptive to learning, and creative and
imaginative thinking.[33]

In his book, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Canadian ethnobotanist Wade
Davis identified D. stramonium, called "zombi (sic) cucumber" in Haiti, as a
central ingredient of the concoction vodou priests use to create zombies.[34]
[35]

The common name "datura" has its roots in ancient India, where the plant is
considered particularly sacredbelieved to be a favorite of the Hindu god
Shiva Nataraja.[25]

Cultivation[edit]
Datura prefers rich, calcareous soil. Adding nitrogen fertilizer to the soil will
increase the concentration of alkaloids present in the plant. Datura can be
grown from seed, which is sown with several feet between plants. Datura is
sensitive to frost, so should be sheltered during cold weather. The plant is
harvested when the fruits are ripe, but still green. To harvest, the entire plant
is cut down, the leaves are stripped from the plant, and everything is left to
dry. When the fruits begin to burst open, the seeds are harvested. For
intensive plantations, leaf yields of 1,100 to 1,700 kilograms per hectare
(1,000 to 1,500 lb/acre) and seed yields of 780 kg/ha (700 lb/acre) are
possible.[36]

Etymology[edit]
The genus name is derived from the plant's Hindi name dhatra.
Stramonium is originally from Greek, strychnos "nightshade" and
maniakos "mad".[37]

In the United States, the plant is called jimson weed, or more rarely
Jamestown weed; it got this name from the town of Jamestown, Virginia,
where British soldiers consumed it while attempting to suppress Bacon's
Rebellion. They spent 11 days in altered mental states:

The James-Town Weed (which resembles the Thorny Apple of Peru, and I take
to be the plant so call'd) is supposed to be one of the greatest coolers in the
world. This being an early plant, was gather'd very young for a boil'd salad,
by some of the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon (1676);
and some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very pleasant
comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would
blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury;
and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning
and making mows [grimaces] at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his
companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any
in a Dutch droll.

In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly,
destroy themselves though it was observed that all their actions were full
of innocence and good nature. Indeed, they were not very cleanly; for they
would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been
prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after eleven days
returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passeUses &
Benefits of Datura
datura is internally used in relieving the spasm of bronchitis in asthma. It is
also used in the treatment of Parkinsonism and Hemorrhoids. Its leaves,
applied after roasting, are useful in relieving pain.
The bitter narcotic plant relieves pain and encourages the healing process.
The plant has a very long history of being used as herbal medicine.
Its leaves, flowering tops and seeds have anodyne, antiasthmatic,
antispasmodic, hallucinogenic, hypnotic, mydriatic and narcotic properties.
The seeds of the plant are the most active medicinally.
datura is internally used for treating giddiness, dry mouth, hallucinations and

coma.
Externally, the plant is used as a poultice in treating fistulas, abscesses
wounds and severe neuralgia.
Traces of scopolamine are also found in the plant, which is a potent
cholinergic-blocking hallucinogen that has been used to calm schizoid
patients.
Its leaves, containing hyoscyamine and atropine, can be used as an
immensely powerful mind-altering drug.
The seeds of datura are analgesic, anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory and as
such, they are used in the treatment of stomach and intestinal pain that
results from worm infestation, toothache, and fever from inflammations.
The juice of its fruit is applied to the scalp, to treat dandruff and falling hair.
The growing plant works as an insect repellant, which protects neighboring
plants from insects
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