12 Facts About Datura

Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae.

All species of Datura are very 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.

Traditionally, psychoactive administration of Datura species has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world.

Certain common Datura species have been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups.

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 produced by Old World plants such as Hyoscyamus niger, Atropa belladonna, and Mandragora officinarum.

Related searches

Generic name Datura is taken from Sanskrit ???? "thorn-apple", ultimately from Sanskrit ???? "white thorn-apple".

Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds", along with deadly nightshade, henbane, and mandrake.

Datura species are native to dry, temperate, and subtropical regions of the Americas, and are distributed mostly in Mexico, which is considered the center of origin of the genus.

Group of South American species formerly placed in the genus Datura are now placed in the distinct genus Brugmansia and has indehiscent fruits.

All Datura plants contain tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine and atropine, primarily in their seeds and flowers, as well as the roots of certain species such as D wrightii.

The overwhelming majority of those who describe their use of Datura find their experiences extremely unpleasant both mentally and often physically dangerous.

Adequate knowledge of Datura properties is necessary to facilitate a safe experience.