Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Jimsonweed is a toxic annual of the nightshade family that grows in fields, pastures, and roadsides across most of the United States. Its large white to purple trumpet flowers open in the evening, followed by spiny seed pods. The name comes from Jamestown, Virginia, where English soldiers became delirious for days after eating its leaves; it's also called thorn-apple.

Appearance

Growth form: A bushy, fast-growing annual about 2–5 ft (0.6–1.5 m) tall with a deep . Stems are smooth and hollow, green to purplish.
Leaves: Dark green, oval leaves 3–7 in (8–18 cm) long with coarse, wavy teeth. Crushed leaves smell foul.
Flowers: Single, fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers about 2½–3½ in (6–9 cm) long, white or tinged purple. They open in the evening and wilt by the next day.
Flowering time: July through September in North Carolina.
Fruit: An upright, egg-shaped, prickly capsule that ripens from green to light brown and splits into four parts.

Look-alikes

Sacred daturaDatura wrightii

Sacred datura is a perennial with much bigger flowers, up to 8 in (20 cm) long, and its round spiny pods hang down. Jimsonweed has smaller flowers and upright, egg-shaped pods that split into four.

Why they get mixed upBoth are datura with white trumpet flowers, toothed leaves, and spiny pods, and both grow along roadsides in the West.

Downy thorn-appleDatura innoxia

Downy thorn-apple is covered in soft grayish hairs and has flowers 5–7½ in (12–19 cm) long. Its pods nod downward and have soft spines.

Why they get mixed upAnother white-flowered datura with spiny pods.

Angel's trumpetBrugmansia

Angel's trumpets are woody shrubs or small trees with flowers that hang straight down, and their fruit has no spines and doesn't split open. Jimsonweed is a non-woody weed with flowers that point up or out.

Why they get mixed upThe trumpet flowers look alike, and both are poisonous.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Fields and pastures
Roadsides
Crop field edges
Disturbed ground
Range: Probably native to Mexico and Central America. It's now found in most US states and in southern Canada, and as a weed in warm and temperate regions worldwide.
Preferred conditions: Grows in full sun to part shade in almost any well-drained soil, and handles drought once established. Frost kills it.
Flowering: Flowers Jul–Sep
Flowers Jul–Sep

Life cycle

Seed dispersal: Each pod holds many flat black seeds that can stay alive in the soil for years, which makes it a persistent weed.

Cautions

Cautions: Every part is poisonous to people, pets, and livestock. Its (atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine) cause dilated pupils, fever, confusion, hallucinations, a racing heart, and in severe cases coma or death. The sap can irritate skin, so wear gloves when pulling it.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Status: Not native to the US; it's treated as a weed and listed as invasive in parts of the country.

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: The Jamestown story comes from Robert Beverley's 1705 history of Virginia: soldiers sent to put down Bacon's Rebellion ate the plant and acted strangely for eleven days. "Jamestown weed" was later shortened to "jimsonweed."