Know your poisons.
This is Jimsonweed, Datura stramonium, also known as devil’s trumpet (from the flowers), thorn apple (from the fruit) and several other names. It’s a member of the nightshade family that happens, unlike its cousins the tomato and the eggplant, to be poisonous, deadly throughout, from root to seed.
Cattle and sheep have been known to die from eating it, and freaks have been known to poison themselves while trying to get a hallucinogenic effect from the seeds. Kids, don’t try that at home. So how ’bout I don’t tell you where I found this growing on the street here in Brooklyn, OK? Even touching the leaves can make some people break out.
Originally a tropical plant, imported early on into Jamestown, VA, which is where the word “Jimson” comes from. For a weed it’s quite a showy little number.
Jimsonweed
6 responses to “Jimsonweed”
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That is freaking scary. I’m going to have nightmares about being chased by a giant jimsonweed. Thanks.
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I recommend gin and tonics for jimsonweed dreams. The gin is full of beneficial herbs, and the tonic helps prevent malaria. The lime is just good for you, period.
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Jimsonweed is indigenous to the new world
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But not to Brooklyn.
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[…] gaudy, trumpet-shaped flowers. These were the largest blooms for miles around in the arid region. Jimsonweed is another name for it, and we have it here in Brooklyn. Some snuck into the Back 40. This is its […]
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[…] thorn apple of jimsonweed, open and ready to spread. Share this:StumbleUponDiggRedditTwitterLike this:LikeBe the first to […]
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