In The Garden: weed or not? can anyone id this plant?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by sir grow a lot, Jun 13, 2009.

  1. sir grow a lot

    sir grow a lot Member

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    hey guys,

    just wondering if anyone can id this plant? it's growing right beside my carrots and i don't remember growing anything there, it looks like a weed but i've never seen anything like it before. just want to make sure it is before i kill it.

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    it has pods that look like okra, but a yellow flower is coming out of the mature ones.
     
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Datura.
     
  3. sir grow a lot

    sir grow a lot Member

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    wow nice one! i didn't think anyone would be able to id it. i wonder how it got there..

    should i keep it?!

    thanks.
     
  4. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    birds could have left a gift for you...

    it'll get pretty big especially in your area - minimum of 4 feet wide. so, you're going to need to move it so the carrots aren't affected.

    it can be poisonous if eaten; i do not know if the roots are an issue or if the fact that it's growing near something edible would affect the edible stuff.

    i'd move it, to be on the safe side. and, yes, you should keep it - very pretty flowers!
     
  5. kaspian

    kaspian Active Member 10 Years

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    Here's a bit of hippie lore: If you pick a newly opened datura flower and bring it into your bedroom at night, placing it so that you will be sure to inhale the flower's perfume -- for instance by pinning it by the stem to your pillow -- you will have vivid, almost hallucinatory dreams.

    I don't know if that's really true, or if it's true for all plants within this genus, which I think is sometimes called Brugmansia now (or maybe only certain species have been shifted to this revisionist genus -- it's a typical botanical tangle). But I do know that some species, at least, from the rain forests of Central and South America, have been used for psychotropic purposes by traditional shamans and vision-seekers. I don't know how this is done because the plants are poisonous, but I assume the old shamans must have figured out a way to prepare or process the raw material prior to consumption. This is probably one of those "Kids, don't try this at home!" situations.
     
  6. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    OK, here's what separates Brugmansia from Datura at this point (physiological features, since no gardener in their right mind will do DNA tests) - Brugmansia flowers are pendant - the bells face the ground. Datura flowers upwards, so that the bells face the sky. The other difference is that Datura is herbaceous, while Brugmansia is woody.

    The component of Brugmansia that is used as part of the hallucinogenic mixtures used by shamans here is found in all parts of the plant, but in the case of Hayahuasca, it's present in such a low dose compared to the other plants that ingestion is not dangerous. However, outside of this, it is definitely a "don't try this at home" kind of thing - scopalomine and atropine are very deadly chemicals and messing with them is not advisable.

    As for the "halleucinogenic" properties of the scent of the flowers, that's debatable, and what you're talking about is an urban myth, Kaspian. The flowers do have somniferic properties, but only to the point of helping to induce sleep, no further. It's actually fairly common practice here in Ecuador to place a single Brugmansia flower in the room with your baby, to help it sleep through the night. It doesn't seem to cause problems; children here are remarkably well-adjusted and sane little creatures.
     
  7. sir grow a lot

    sir grow a lot Member

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    interesting... thanks for the knowledge, i'd love to get a little halucanagenic trip out of my garden ;)
     

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