Datura stramonium L.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Maleme Dam camp

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Synonyms:	Datura stramonium L. var. tatula (L.) Torr. Datura tatula L.
Common names:	Jimson weed (English) Thorn apple (English)
Frequency:
Status:
Description:	Erect, usually dichotomously branched annual or short-lived perennial herb, up to 1.5 m tall. Branches often purple-tinged and glandular, hairless or sparsely hairy when young; all parts unpleasantly scented. Leaves alternate, ovate, rhombic-ovate to elliptic, up to 20 × 15 cm, thinly textured, almost hairless to minutely pubescent, particularly near the base; base sometimes decurrent into the petiole; margin coarsely and irregularly toothed. Flowers solitary in the forks of the branches, erect. Calyx long and tube-like, up to 2.5-5 cm long, 5-angled with triangular-lanceolate unequal apical lobes, 4-10 mm long. Corolla white to pale mauve-purple, sometimes darker purple in the tube, 6-11 cm long, slightly 5-6-lobed with narrow acuminate tips. Fruit erect, almost round to ovoid-ellipsoid, up to 5 × 4.5 cm (including spines), densely covered with slender unequal spines, up to 16 mm long, yellow-green to brown when ripe, regularly dehiscent. All parts of the plant are poisonous.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	stramonium: a name used by Theophrastus for this species
Habitat:
Altitude range:
Flowering time:	Oct - Mar
Worldwide distribution:	Native to North America. Now an almost cosmopolitan weed.
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Gonçalves, A.E. (2005). Solanaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(4) Pages 29 - 32. (Includes a picture). Kirby, G. (2013). Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana Struik Nature, Cape Town South Africa Page 114. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 79. Maroyi, A. (2006). Preliminary checklist of introduced and naturalized plants in Zimbabwe. Kirkia 18(2) Page 243. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 106. Shone, D.K. & Drummond, R.B. (1965). Poisonous Plants of Rhodesia Ministry of Agriculture, Rhodesia Pages 46 - 48. (Includes a picture). Wild, H. (1955). Common Rhodesian Weeds Government of Rhodesia, Salisbury Page 83. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Datura stramonium:

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Flora of Botswana: Datura stramonium
Flora of Malawi: Datura stramonium
Flora of Mozambique: Datura stramonium
Flora of Zambia: Datura stramonium
Flora of Zimbabwe: Datura stramonium
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Datura stramonium

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Datura stramonium
African Plant Database: Datura stramonium
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Datura stramonium
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Datura stramonium
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Datura stramonium
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Datura stramonium
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Datura stramonium
JSTOR Plant Science: Datura stramonium
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Datura stramonium
Plants of the World Online: Datura stramonium
Tropicos: Datura stramonium
Wikipedia: Datura stramonium