e471Datura is a genus of nine species of poisonous vespertine flowering plants belonging to the 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, psychosis, and even death if taken internally.
Due to its effects and symptoms, it has occasionally been used not only as a poison, but also as a hallucinogen by various groups throughout history. Traditionally, psychoactive administration of daturas has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world.[3][4] Certain common datura species have also been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups.[5]
Non-psychoactive 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.[6]
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