TOUCH-ME-NOTS

Datura

This is a trailing vine with large blue/gray/green leaves, huge white or purple trumpet shaped flowers with a rather unpleasant aroma, and lemon sized spiky green fruits which turn brown and crack when dry. It looks like a giant morning glory. It’s also called Jimson Weed, Devil’s Trumpet and Thorn Apple, and many other names.

I think the most dangerous thing about this plant is its folklore and reputation as a hallucinogenic. This is the plant that Carlos Casteneda refers to in his books.

The problem is that the strength of the alkaloids in the plant will vary from location to location, even by a few feet, the amount of sunlight on a given day, and the time of day, the rainfall, and the phase of the moon. The people I have known who have experimented with it have had very bad experiences.

There are usually several cases every year of kids and silly adults putting themselves into a permanent coma by mixing Datura tea with other substances like alcohol.

While it has important medicinal uses, it should NEVER be ingested. This is a very unsafe plant to play around with and should be avoided. The key words for this plant are “permanent coma” (explain that this coma is a nap that you don’t wake up from, with nightmares!)