The Nature of Things

Datura is a member of the Potato ( Solanaceae ) family, also called the Deadly Nightshade family. It is a large and diverse family that includes many edibles like tomatoes and...well, potatoes. Datura, however, is not edible. In fact, all parts of the plant are poisonous and can be fatal if ingested. The plant itself is a stoutly branched and sprawling perennial with long, gray-green ovate leaves that are covered in tiny smooth hairs. It can grow up to two feet high and sprawl many feet wide. The beautiful and fragrant flowers are large and trumpet-shaped. The native plant, the one from my garden that you see above, has white flowers. This is the iconic blossom featured in several Georgia O'Keefe paintings.   "Jimson Weed" by Georgia O'Keefe Jimson weed is what the plant was called in the area where I grew up. There are actually several different species of datura and jimson weed ( Datura stramonium ) is one of them. In addition to the plant with large white blossoms,...