Datura

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Datura (disambiguation).

Datura
Datura wrightii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Datureae
Genus: Datura
L.
Type species
Datura stramonium
L.
Species

9–14 (See text)

Datura is a

hallucinations, anticholinergic syndrome, psychosis, and death if taken internally.[3]

Due to their effects and symptoms, Datura species have occasionally been used not only as poisons, but also as

hallucinogens by various groups throughout history.[4][5] Traditionally, their psychoactive administration has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world.[5][6][7] Certain common Datura species have also been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups.[8][9]

Non-psychoactive use of plants in the genus is usually done for

medicinal purposes, and the alkaloids present in some species 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 plants associated with Old World medicine such as Hyoscyamus niger, Atropa belladonna, and Mandragora officinarum.[4][5][10]

Etymology

The generic name Datura is taken from Hindi धतूरा dhatūra "thorn-apple",[11] ultimately from Sanskrit धत्तूर dhattūra "white thorn-apple" (referring to Datura metel of Asia).[12] In the Ayurvedic text Sushruta Samhita, different species of Datura are also referred to as kanaka and unmatta.[12] Dhatura is offered to Shiva in Hinduism. Record of this name in English dates back to 1662.[13] Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to one type in The Scarlet Letter as "apple-Peru". In Mexico, its common name is toloache. The Mexican common name toloache (also spelled tolguacha) derives from the Nahuatl tolohuaxihuitl, meaning "the plant with the nodding head" (in reference to the nodding seed capsules of Datura species belonging to section Dutra of the genus).

Description

Datura species are

perennials, which can reach up to 2 m in height. The leaves are alternate, 10–20 cm long, and 5–18 cm broad, with a lobed or toothed margin. The flowers are erect or spreading (not pendulous like those of Brugmansia), trumpet-shaped, 5–20 cm long, and 4–12 cm broad at the mouth; colours vary from white to yellow and pale purple. The fruit is a spiny capsule, 4–10 cm long and 2–6 cm broad, splitting open when ripe to release the numerous seeds
. The seeds disperse freely over pastures, fields, and even wasteland locations.

Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds", along with

potions, and witches' brews, most notably Datura stramonium.[14][15]

In India, D. metel has long been regarded as a poison and

cows
will generally avoid consuming them.

It was brought to Europe by the Romani people.[17]

Species and cultivars

Datura metel 'Fastuosa'

Classifying Datura as to its species is difficult, and the descriptions of new species often are accepted prematurely. Later, these "new species" are found to be simply varieties that have evolved due to conditions at a specific location. They usually disappear in a few years. Contributing to the confusion is the fact that various species, such as D. wrightii and D. inoxia, are very similar in appearance, and the variation within a species can be extreme. For example, Datura species can change size of plant, leaf, and flowers, all depending on location. The same species, when growing in a half-shady, damp location can develop into a flowering bush half as tall as an adult human of average height, but when growing in a very dry location, will only grow into a thin plant not much more than ankle high, with tiny flowers and a few miniature leaves.[14] Datura species are native to dry, temperate, and subtropical regions. Most species native to Mexico, which is considered the center of origin of the genus. Several species are considered to have extra-American native ranges: D. ferox (native to China), D. metel (native to India and Southeast Asia), and D. leichardthii (native to Australia), however these may be early introductions from Central America.[18]

A group of South American species formerly placed in the genus Datura are now placed in the distinct genus

indehiscent fruits. The solanaceous tribe Datureae, to which Datura and Brugmansia belong, has recently acquired a new, monotypic genus Trompettia J. Dupin, featuring the species Trompettia cardenasiana, which had hitherto been misclassified as belonging to the genus Iochroma
.

Datura specialists, the Preissels, accept only 9 species of Datura,[14] but Kew's Plants of the World Online currently lists the following 14 (out of which the current edition of The Plant List does not list D. arenicola, D. lanosa, and D. pruinosa as accepted spp.):

  • Datura arenicola Gentry ex Bye & Luna
  • Datura ceratocaula Ortega
  • Datura discolor Bernh.
  • Datura ferox L.
  • Datura innoxia Mill.
  • Datura kymatocarpa Barclay
  • Datura lanosa A.S.Barclay ex Bye
  • Datura leichhardtii Benth.
  • Datura metel L.
  • Datura pruinosa Greenm.
  • Datura quercifolia Kunth
  • Datura reburra Barclay
  • Datura stramonium L.
  • Datura wrightii Regel

Of the above, D. leichhardtii is close enough to D. pruinosa to merit demotion to a subspecies and likewise D. ferox and D. quercifolia are close enough in morphology to merit being subsumed in a single species. Furthermore, the Australian provenance of D. leichhardtii, the Chinese provenance of D. ferox, and the Afro-Asiatic provenance of D. metel have been cast into serious doubt, with the three species being almost certainly post-Columbian introductions to the regions to which they were originally thought native.[20]

The case of D. metel is unique in that not only is the plant not a true species at all, but an assemblage of ancient

Columbian Exchange).[20][16][21]

D. arenicola is a remarkable new species, described only in 2013, of very restricted range, and so distinctive as to have merited the creation for it of the new section Discola [not to be confused with the species name D. discolor] within the genus. The specific name arenicola means "loving (i.e. "thriving in") sand".[22]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Datura arenicola Gentry ex Bye & Luna Sand thorn-apple, Baja datura, Vizcaíno Desert datura Baja California Sur, Mexico
D. ceratocaula Jacq. torna loco, Sister of
Ololiuhqui
, swamp datura		 Mexico.
D. discolor Bernh. (syn. D. kymatocarpa, D. reburra) desert thorn-apple Sonoran Desert of western North America
D. ferox L. long-spined thorn-apple southeastern China (disputed[20])
D. innoxia Mill. thorn-apple, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, moonflower, toloatzin, toloache Southwestern United States, Central and South America (cosmopolitan weed)
D. leichhardtii F.Muell. ex Benth. (syn. D. pruinosa) Leichhardt's datura from Mexico to Guatemala
D. metel L. Hindu datura, Indian thorn-apple, devil's trumpet[14] Asia, Africa (disputed[20])
D. quercifolia Kunth oak-leaved thorn-apple Mexico and the Southwestern United States
D. stramonium L. (syn. D. inermis, D. bernhardii) jimsonweed, thorn-apple, devil's snare Central America (cosmopolitan weed)
Regel
 sacred datura, western jimsonweed, California jimsonweed, sacred thorn-apple, tolguacha, toloache Southwestern United States

American Brugmansia and Datura Society, Inc. (ABADS) is designated in the 2004 edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants as the official International Cultivar Registration Authority for Datura. This role was delegated to ABADS by the International Society for Horticultural Science in 2002.

Past classified species

Cultivation

Fruit
Datura metel 'Fastuosa' (Hindi: काला धतूरा kāla dhatūra – "black datura")

Datura species are usually sown annually from the seed produced in the spiny

perennial species may be overwintered. Most species are suited to being planted outside or in containers. As a rule, they need warm, sunny places and soil that will keep their roots dry. When grown outdoors in good locations, the plants tend to reseed themselves and may become invasive. In containers, they should have porous, aerated potting soil with adequate drainage. The plants are susceptible to fungi in the root area, so anaerobic organic enrichment such as anaerobically composted organic matter or manure, should be avoided.[14]

Toxicity

All Datura plants contain

anticholinergic drugs, also appear to significantly increase the risk of developing dementia.[25][26]

In traditional cultures, a great deal of experience with and detailed knowledge of Datura was critical to minimize harm.

adolescents and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura.[28][29] Deliberate or inadvertent poisoning resulting from smoking jimsonweed and other related species has been reported as well.[30] Although most poisonings occur with more common species of Datura such as D. stramonium, several reports in the medical literature indicate deaths from D. ferox intoxication.[31][32][33] Children are especially vulnerable to atropine poisoning.[34][35]

D. inoxia with ripe, split-open fruit

In some parts of Europe and India, Datura has been a popular poison for suicide and murder.[36] From 1950 to 1965, the State Chemical Laboratories in Agra, India, investigated 2,778 deaths caused by ingesting Datura.[14][37] A group called Thugs (practicers of thuggee) were reportedly devotees of an Indian religious cult made up of robbers and assassins who strangled or poisoned their victims in rituals devoted to the Hindu goddess Kali. They were alleged to employ Datura in many such poisonings, using it also to induce drowsiness or stupefaction, making strangulation easier.[38]

Datura toxins may be ingested accidentally by consumption of

honey wasps apparently collect Datura nectar for honey production, which can lead to poisoning.[39]

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported accidental poisoning resulting in hospitalization for a family of six who inadvertently ingested Datura used as an ingredient in stew.[40]

In some places,[

Mandragoreae, named for the famous Mandragora officinarum
, most of which are considered traditional witches' herbs and poisons.

Effects of ingestion

Datura is considered a

disrobing, emotional bluntness, dysphoria, and confusion are often reported, and pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect.[42][43] The psychoactive alkaloids scopolamine and atropine are also both known for their characteristic hyperactive effects and ability to cause stark and dream-like hallucinations.[44][45] The onset of symptoms generally occurs around 30 to 60 minutes after ingesting the herb. These symptoms generally last from 24 to 48 hours, but have been reported in some cases to last two weeks or longer.[30][46][47]

Treatment

Due to their agitated behavior and confused mental state, people with acute Datura poisoning or intoxication are typically hospitalized.

agitation, and supportive care with oxygen, hydration, and symptomatic treatment is often provided. Observation of the patient is indicated until the symptoms resolve, usually from 24 to 36 hours after ingestion of the Datura.[37][46]

Psychoactive use

In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs, Freye asserts, "Few substances have received as many severely negative recreational experience reports as has Datura."

ritual sacrifice and malevolent purposes as well.[54] In modern-day Mexico, some datura species are still used for sorcery and other occult practices, mostly in the southern region of Veracruz, specifically in the city of Catemaco.[55][56]

Bernardino de Sahagún, in around 1569, called attention to Datura in these words: "It is administered in potions in order to cause harm to those who are objects of hatred. Those who eat it have visions of fearful things. Magicians or those who wish to harm someone administer it in food or drink. This herb is medicinal and its seed is used as a remedy for gout, ground up and applied to the part affected."[53]

incantations.[59]

Gallery

  • D. stramonium (lateral view) near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
    D. stramonium (lateral view) near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
  • D. wrightii in bloom (lateral view) near Twentynine Palms, California, U.S.
    D. wrightii in bloom (lateral view) near Twentynine Palms, California, U.S.
  • Datura flower on the plant (lateral view) near Hyderabad, Telangana, India
    Datura flower on the plant (lateral view) near Hyderabad, Telangana, India
  • Datura flower on the plant (top view) near Hyderabad, Telangana, India
    Datura flower on the plant (top view) near Hyderabad, Telangana, India

See also

References

  1. ^ 1959 Avery, Amos Geer, Satina, Sophie and Rietsema, Jacob Blakeslee: the genus Datura, foreword and biographical sketch by Edmund W. Sinnott, pub. New York : Ronald Press Co.
  2. ^ "Datura metel". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  3. PMID 28913501
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  5. ^
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  6. ^
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  7. ^ Rätsch, Christian, The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications pub. Park Street Press 2005
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  9. ^ Smith, Gordon (15 December 1983). "The Kumeyaay rock art at Hakwin: Hallucinogen datura explains symbols". San Diego Reader.
  10. ^ a b Schultes, Richard Evans; Hofmann, Albert (1979). The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens (2nd ed.). Springfield Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.
  11. ^ American Heritage Dictionary: datura
  12. ^
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    .
  13. OED
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    ISBN 1-55209-598-3
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  15. ^ Schultes, Richard Evans; Hofmann, Albert (1979). The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens (2nd ed.). Springfield Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. pps. 261-4.
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  25. ^ "Study suggests link between long-term use of anticholinergics and dementia risk". Alzheimer's Society. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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  29. ^ Leinwand, D. (1 November 2006). "Jimson weed users chase high all the way to hospital". USA Today. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
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  39. ^ Bequaert, Joseph (29 November 1933). "The Nearctic Social Wasps of the Subfamily Polybiinae (Hymenopetra; Vespidae)". Entomologica Americana. 13 (3): 87–150.
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  52. ^ Kelly, Isabel T. (1939). Southern Paiute Shamanism (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2017.
  53. ^ a b Safford, William (1916). Narcotic Plants and Stimulants of the Ancient Americans. United States: Economic Botanist. pp. 405–406.
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External links

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Further reading

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