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Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets or mad apple (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 extremely poisonous and psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, anticholinergic toxidrome, psychosis, and death if taken internally.

The name Datura originates from the Hindi and Sanskrit words for “thorn-apple,” with historical and cultural significance in Ayurveda and Hinduism, while the English term “Jimsonweed” derives from its prevalence in Jamestown, Virginia, where it was called “Jamestown-Weed.” Datura species are herbaceous annual or short-lived perennial plants up to 2 meters tall with trumpet-shaped flowers and spiny fruit capsules, historically used in traditional medicine, especially in India, where they hold cultural and ritual significance. Datura species classification is complex due to high variability and overlapping traits among species, with many “new species” later reclassified as local varieties or subspecies; most species are native to Mexico, though some have disputed native ranges outside the Americas, and the genus is closely related to Brugmansia and the recently established Trompettia. (Full article...)