Datura is a genus of nine species of poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae.[1] They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets[2] (not to be confused with angel's trumpets, which are placed in the closely related genus Brugmansia). Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells. All species of Datura are poisonous and potentially psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, anticholinergic syndrome, psychosis, and even death if taken internally. Due to their effects and symptoms, they have occasionally been used not only as poisons, but also as hallucinogens by various groups throughout history.[3][4] Traditionally, psychoactive administration of Datura species has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world.[4][5][6] Certain common Datura species have also been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups.[7] Nonpsychoactive use of the plant is usually done for medicinal purposes, and the alkaloids present in plants of the Datura genus have long been considered traditional medicines in both the New and Old Worlds due to the presence of the alkaloids scopolamine and atropine, which are also produced by Old World plants such as Hyoscyamus niger, Atropa belladonna, and Mandragora officinarum.[3][4][8]
The generic name Datura is taken from Sanskrit धतूरा dhatūra "thorn-apple",[9] ultimately from Sanskrit धत्तूर dhattūra "white thorn-apple" (referring to Datura metel of Asia).[10] In the Ayurvedic text Sushruta Samhita, different species of Datura are also referred to as kanaka and unmatta.[10] Dhatura is offered to Shiva in Hinduism. Record of this name in English dates back to 1662.[11] Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to one type in The Scarlet Letter as "apple-Peru". In Mexico, its common name is toloache. The Mexican common name toloache (also spelled tolguacha) derives from the Nahuatl tolohuaxihuitl, meaning "the plant with the nodding head" (in reference to the nodding seed capsules of Datura species belonging to section Dutra of the genus). In LATIN “daturus” means “to give”.
Datura species are herbaceous, leafy annuals and short-lived perennials, which can reach up to 2 m 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 Brugmansia), trumpet-shaped, 5–20 cm long, and 4–12 cm broad at the mouth; colours 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. All parts of the plants are toxic, and the genus has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death. It was well known as an essential ingredient of magical ointments, potions, and witches' brews, most notably Datura stramonium.[12][13]
In India, D. metel has long been regarded as a poison and aphrodisiac, having been used in Ayurveda as a medicine since ancient times. It features in rituals and prayers to Shiva and also in Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival devoted to the deity Ganesha.[14] The larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including Hypercompe indecisa, eat some Datura species.