Herbs perennial, to 20 dm, roots tuberous. Stems purple in some cultivars, sparsely puber­ulent, glabrescent. Leaf blades ovate, to 24 × 20 cm, margins entire or irregularly sinuate-dentate, surfaces puberulent, glabrescent. Flowers: calyx hairy along veins, tube cylindric, 5-toothed; corolla white, yellow, or purple, broadly funnelform, with single, double, or triple whorls, finely puberulent along veins, 11–22 cm, acuminate lobes alternating with smaller lobules (or emarginate). Capsules pendent, irregularly dehiscent, pericarp fleshy, puberulent, glabrescent, tuberculate; calyx remnant slightly accrescent. Seeds brown, 4–6 mm, convex marginal ridge present, testa smooth; caruncle present. 2n = 24.

Phenology: Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat: Waste places.
Elevation: 0–1000 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Ont., Que., Calif., Fla., Ill., Kans., La., Mass., N.C., Okla., Tex., Mexico, introduced and cultivated nearly worldwide.

Discussion

Datura metel is an ornamental and ritual plant that was domesticated in the region of southern Mexico and Central America prior to European contact; it is derived from a common ancestor shared with D. innoxia. Using old Arabic and Indic references as well as iconographic representations from southern India, R. Geeta and W. Gharaibeh (2007) supported the hypothesis that D. metel was transferred to the Old World at least a millennium ago. Plants escaped from cultivation may persist for only a few years.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.