Beauty? Or beast?

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011.

Some wildflowers have a polarizing effect: you either love ’em or you hate ’em. Or perhaps a third option: you think they’re weird and you keep your distance. Maybe you already have a strong opinion about this one — Datura wrightii, a flower with two extensive sets of common names that seem to run in opposite directions. Some know it as Jimsonweed. Others call it Sacred Thornapple. For some, it’s Locoweed or “Hell’s Bells,” but others describe it as “Angel’s Trumpet.” Whatever name you use, there are many reasons to study (and admire) this flower.

You may have heard the name “jimsonweed” before, perhaps in an old cowboy movie, where some cowpoke looks at an ailing calf, shakes his head ominously, and mutters, “jimsonweed.” Datura plants are well known for their toxicity to livestock — and to humans. They’re also known for hallucinogenic properties and have been used in ceremonies and rituals by many Native American groups throughout the American southwest (hence the name “sacred”). But it’s risky to ingest this plant or its seeds for their psychedelic effect, because the concentration of psychoactive alkaloids varies wildly with the plant’s age and location, and even with the weather. Fatalities are not uncommon!

Someone should have told all this to the British soldiers who were sent to suppress an insurrection of sorts in Jamestown, back around 1677. It seems that these soldiers prepared a salad that included Datura leaves, and very soon they were acting quite odd, if not outright crazily. No one died, but these troops were unfit to soldier for fully eleven days. They remembered nothing! Jamestown, however, is remembered for lending its name to the plant as Jimson (=“Jamestown”) Weed.

Although our local “jimsonweed” is a different species in the Datura genus, in appearance (and in its hazardous effects!) it closely resembles the “weed” from Jamestown (D. stramonium). Its flowers are the real showstopper. These huge white trumpets range up to 8″ long and 5″ across. Their petals are fused together, and as they open, they gradually transform from a tightly furled brownish roll into white pleats with purple tinging at the outer edges. When halfway open, the trumpet forms a five-point star, with wispy tendrils where the petals are fused. When fully open, the pleats disappear and the petals can curl backwards, much like a real trumpet. No wonder that Georgia O’Keeffe loved to paint Datura flowers! And no wonder that yet another name for this plant is “moonflower”!

The leaves are also attractive — large, and a rich green color. But we need to mention the “thornapple.” Each flower will eventually wither and wilt, and in its place there will gradually form a spiky green sphere, the size of a golf ball or slightly larger. When the plant is in bloom, these thornapples are not yet formed, but they do appear later on — often tucked away under the leaves and easily overlooked. As they dry, they will split open and disperse their seeds.

Where and when to find it. California has six species of Datura, but only two are natives, and only D. wrightii is truly widespread. Statewide, it blooms from February through October. It loves disturbed soil but is also found in coastal scrub, grasslands, chaparral, and woodlands. Locally, it occurs only sporadically throughout Cherry Canyon.  However, it’s easy to find along the most “disturbed” section of our trail system, which is the Open Space Trail where it runs under Edison’s high-voltage lines, just above Foothill Blvd. It’s also common in the basin above Devil’s Gate Dam, and a few residences in La Cañada have planted it as an ornamental — which assuredly it is.