Genus of poisonous, potentially psychoactive plants

Datura

Datura

Datura is a <a href="/en/Genus" title="Genus" class="wl">genus</a> of nine species of highly <a href="/en/Poisonous" title="Poisonous" class="mw-redirect wl">poisonous</a>, <a href="/en/Vespertine_(biology)" title="Vespertine (biology)" class="wl">vespertine</a>-<a href="/en/Flowering_plant" title="Flowering plant" class="wl">flowering plants</a> belonging to the nightshade family (<a href="/en/Solanaceae" title="Solanaceae" class="wl">Solanaceae</a>).<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> (not to be confused with angel's trumpets, which are placed in the closely related genus <a href="/en/Brugmansia" title="Brugmansia" class="wl">Brugmansia</a>). Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells. All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and potentially <a href="/en/Psychoactive_plant" title="Psychoactive plant" class="wl">psychoactive</a>, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause <a href="/en/Respiratory_depression" title="Respiratory depression" class="mw-redirect wl">respiratory depression</a>, <a href="/en/Arrhythmias" title="Arrhythmias" class="mw-redirect wl">arrhythmias</a>, <a href="/en/Fever" title="Fever" class="wl">fever</a>, <a href="/en/Delirium" title="Delirium" class="wl">delirium</a>, <a href="/en/Hallucinations" title="Hallucinations" class="mw-redirect wl">hallucinations</a>, <a href="/en/Toxidrome#Anticholinergic" title="Toxidrome" class="wl">anticholinergic syndrome</a>, <a href="/en/Psychosis" title="Psychosis" class="wl">psychosis</a>, and even death if taken internally.<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> 

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<div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Datura, Scientific classification , Type spec... ▼</header> <table class="infobox biota mobile-collapse-element" style="text-align: left; width: 200px; font-size: 100%">
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(180,250,180)" class="notheme">Datura</th></tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center"><a href="/en/File:Sacred_datura_(Datura_wrightii)_(14212557338).jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Sacred_datura_(Datura_wrightii)_(14212557338).jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg/220px-Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="3108" data-file-height="4662" data-file-type="bitmap" height="330" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg/330px-Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg/440px-Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg 2x" alt="Sacred_datura_%28Datura_wrightii%29_%2814212557338%29.jpg"></a></td></tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 88%"><a href="/en/Datura_wrightii" title="Datura wrightii" class="wl">Datura wrightii</a></td></tr>


<tr style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(180,250,180)" class="notheme"></tr>


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<th colspan="2" style="min-width:15em; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(180,250,180)" class="notheme"><a href="/en/Taxonomy_(biology)" title="Taxonomy (biology)" class="wl">Scientific classification</a> <a href="/en/Template:Taxonomy/Datura" title="e" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="e" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Red_Pencil_Icon.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="16" data-file-height="16" data-file-type="bitmap" height="16" width="16"></a></th></tr>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Plant" title="Plant" class="wl">Plantae</a></td></tr>
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<td>Clade:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Vascular_plant" title="Vascular plant" class="wl">Tracheophytes</a></td></tr>
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<td>Clade:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Flowering_plant" title="Flowering plant" class="wl">Angiosperms</a></td></tr>
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<td>Clade:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Eudicots" title="Eudicots" class="wl">Eudicots</a></td></tr>
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<td>Clade:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Asterids" title="Asterids" class="wl">Asterids</a></td></tr>
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Solanales" title="Solanales" class="wl">Solanales</a></td></tr>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Solanaceae" title="Solanaceae" class="wl">Solanaceae</a></td></tr>
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<td>Subfamily:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Solanoideae" title="Solanoideae" class="wl">Solanoideae</a></td></tr>
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<td>Tribe:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Datureae" title="Datureae" class="wl">Datureae</a></td></tr>
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><a href="/en/Datura" title="Datura" class="wl">Datura</a> <a href="/en/Carl_Linnaeus" title="Carl Linnaeus" class="wl">L.</a></td></tr>



































































































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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(180,250,180)" class="notheme"><a href="/en/Type_species" title="Type species" class="wl">Type species</a></th></tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center"><a href="/en/Datura_stramonium" title="Datura stramonium" class="wl">Datura stramonium</a> <div style="font-size: 85%;">L.</div></td></tr>






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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(180,250,180)" class="notheme">Species</th></tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: left">
9–14 (See text)</td></tr>

















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Due to their effects and symptoms, Datura species have occasionally been used not only as poisons, but also as <a href="/en/Hallucinogens#Deliriants" title="Hallucinogens" class="mw-redirect wl">hallucinogens</a> by various groups throughout history.<a href="#cite_note-Fatur_140–158-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-Kennedy_2014-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> Traditionally, their psychoactive administration has often been associated with <a href="/en/Witchcraft" title="Witchcraft" class="wl">witchcraft</a> and <a href="/en/Magic_(supernatural)" title="Magic (supernatural)" class="wl">sorcery</a> or similar practices in many cultures, including the <a href="/en/Western_world" title="Western world" class="wl">Western world</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Kennedy_2014-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-ReferenceA-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a> Certain common Datura species have also been used <a href="/en/Ritual" title="Ritual" class="wl">ritualistically</a> as <a href="/en/Entheogen" title="Entheogen" class="wl">entheogens</a> by some <a href="/en/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States" title="Native Americans in the United States" class="wl">Native American</a> groups.<a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a> 

Non-psychoactive use of plants in the genus is usually done for <a href="/en/Medicinal" title="Medicinal" class="mw-redirect wl">medicinal</a> purposes, and the <a href="/en/Alkaloid" title="Alkaloid" class="wl">alkaloids</a> present in some species have long been considered <a href="/en/Traditional_medicine" title="Traditional medicine" class="wl">traditional medicines</a> in both the <a href="/en/New_World" title="New World" class="wl">New</a> and <a href="/en/Old_World" title="Old World" class="wl">Old Worlds</a> due to the presence of the alkaloids <a href="/en/Scopolamine" title="Scopolamine" class="wl">scopolamine</a> and <a href="/en/Atropine" title="Atropine" class="wl">atropine</a>, which are also produced by Old World plants such as <a href="/en/Hyoscyamus_niger" title="Hyoscyamus niger" class="wl">Hyoscyamus niger</a>, <a href="/en/Atropa_belladonna" title="Atropa belladonna" class="wl">Atropa belladonna</a>, and <a href="/en/Mandragora_officinarum" title="Mandragora officinarum" class="wl">Mandragora officinarum</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Fatur_140–158-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-Kennedy_2014-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-Schultes,_Richard_Evans_1979-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a>

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