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Datura
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Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Their exact natural distribution is uncertain, due to extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe, but is most likely restricted to the Americas, from the United States south through Mexico, where the highest species diversity occurs.
Some South American plants formerly thought of as Daturas are now treated as belonging to the distinct genus Brugmansia.
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Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Their exact natural distribution is uncertain, due to extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe, but is most likely restricted to the Americas, from the United States south through Mexico, where the highest species diversity occurs.
Some South American plants formerly thought of as Daturas are now treated as belonging to the distinct genus Brugmansia. This genus differs in being woody, making shrubs or small trees, and in having pendulous flowers. Other related genera include Hyoscyamus and Atropa.
Description
Datura are woody-stalked, leafy annuals and short-lived perennials which can reach up to 2 meters in height. The leaves are alternate, 10-20 cm long and 5-18 cm broad, with a lobed or toothed margin. The flowers are erect or spreading (not pendulous like those of the closely allied Brugmansiae), trumpet-shaped, 5-20 cm long and 4-12 cm broad at the mouth; colors vary from white to yellow, pink, and pale purple. The fruit is a spiny capsule 4-10 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, splitting open when ripe to release the numerous seeds. The seeds disperse freely over pastures, fields and even wasteland locations.
Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds," along with deadly nightshade, henbane, and mandrake. Most parts of the plants contain toxic hallucinogens, and Datura has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death. It was well known as an essential ingredient of love potions and witches' brews.
Common names include Thorn Apple (from the spiny fruit), Pricklyburr (similarly), Jimson Weed, Moonflower, Hell's Bells, Devil's Weed, Devil's Cucumber, and Devil's Trumpet, (from their large trumpet-shaped flowers). Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to one type in The Scarlet Letter as Apple-Peru. The word datura comes from the Hindi Dhatura (thorn apple); record of this name dates back to 1662 (OED). In Tamil it is called as "oomathai".
Datura species are food plants for the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including Hypercompe indecisa.
Species and cultivars
It is difficult to classify a datura as to its species, and it often happens that descriptions of new species are accepted prematurely. Later it is found that these "new species" are simply varieties that have evolved due to conditions at a specific location. They usually disappear in a few years. Contributing to the confusion are the facts that various species such as D. wrightii and D. inoxia are very similar in appearance, and that the variation within a species can be extreme. For example, Datura have the interesting property of being able to change size of plant, size of leaf, and size of flowers, all depending on location. The same species, when growing in a half-shady damp location can develop into a magnificent flowering bush half as tall as a man, but when growing in a very dry location will only grow into a thin little plant just higher than his ankles, with tiny flowers and a few miniature leaves.
Today, experts classify only nine species of Datura:
American Brugmansia & Datura Society, Inc. (ABADS), is designated in the 2004 edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants as the official International Cultivar Registration Authority for Datura. This role was delegated to ABADS by the International Society for Horticultural Science in 2002.
Cultivation
Datura are usually planted annually from the seed produced in the spiny pods, but with care, plants can be overwintered. Most species are suited to being planted outside or in containers. As a rule, they need warm, sunny places and soil that will keep their roots dry. When grown outdoors in good locations, the plants tend to reseed themselves and may become invasive. In containers, they should have porous, aerated potting soil with adequate drainage. The plants are susceptible to fungi in the root area, so organic enrichers such as compost and manure should be avoided.
Toxicity
All Datura plants contain tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, primarily in their seeds and flowers. Because of the presence of these substances, Datura has been used for centuries in some cultures as a poison and hallucinogen. There can easily be a 5:1 variation in toxins from plant to plant, and a given plant's toxicity depends on its age, where it is growing, and local weather conditions. These wide variations make Datura exceptionally hazardous to use as a drug. In traditional cultures, users needed to have a great deal of experience and detailed plant knowledge so that no harm resulted from using it. Such knowledge is not available in modern cultures, so many unfortunate incidents result from ingesting Datura. In the 1990s and 2000s, the United States media contained stories of adolescents and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura. There are also several reports in the medical literature of deaths from Datura stramonium and Datura ferox intoxication. Children are especially vulnerable to atropine poisoning and they more likely to have a fatal prognosis.
In some parts of Europe and India, Datura has been a popular poison for suicide and murder. From 1950-1965, the State Chemical Laboratories in Agra investigated 2,778 deaths that were caused by ingesting Datura.
Chaitanya Charitamrita, a 16th century biography of the saint Caitanya who was known for his fervent religious ecstasies, describes an incident (2.18.165, 183) where Muslim soldiers, unable to comprehend his state of trance, apprehend four of his companions on suspicion of their poisoning him with dhutura with an aim to loot his possessions. Upon regaining consciousness, Caitanya attributes his trance episode to epilepsy.
Effects of ingestion
Due to the potent combination of anticholinergic substances it contains, Datura intoxication typically produces effects similar to that of an anticholinergic delirium: a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy (frank delirium, as contrasted to hallucination); hyperthermia; tachycardia; bizarre, and possibly violent behavior; and severe mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days. Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect.
According to the drug information site Erowid, no other substance has received as many "Train Wreck" severely negative experience reports as has Datura, noting that "the overwhelming majority of those who describe to us their use of Datura (and to a lesser extent, Belladonna, Brugmansia and Brunfelsia) find their experiences extremely mentally and physically unpleasant and not infrequently physically dangerous."
The full listing of reports can be found at . Numerous stories of Datura-related deaths and critical illnesses can also be found at the Lycaeum Datura Index .
See also
External links
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