I'm almost an hour late and I'm very sorry for that but now we can start a new weekend flower show.
Let me see your gorgeous flowers from around the world!
Here is my entry for today, about the Datura:
Unlike the closely related Brugmansia, datura flowers are erect, not pendulous with colors varying from white to yellow, pink, and pale purple.
All datura species are poisonous, deliriant and sometimes used as a hallucinogen.
This is the Datura wrightii or Sacred Datura, a poisonous perennial plant often used as ornamental flower in gardens.
This herbaceous perennial grows 30 cm to 1.5 m tall and wide and it's often confused with the Angel's trumpet or Jimsonweed - Datura stramonium.Its leaves are broad and rounded at the base.
The flowers are strikingly beautiful, with sweetly fragrant white, 5-toothed trumpets up to 20 cm (8 in) long.
It blooms from April to October, but its the first time that I see one.
The flowers open at nearly full dark (as you can see on the photo) and wither a few hours after sunrise the following morning.
In cloudy weather, they may open earlier and last longer.
As by other Datura, the fruit is a spiny capsule, the well known thorn-apple, splitting open when ripe to release the numerous seeds.
Angel's trumpet (Datura stramonium) has smaller flowers, tooth-edged leaves and 10-toothed flowers, compared with Sacred Datura.
Datura wrightii is sacred to some native Americans but also used to induce a "recreational hallucination". Similar to Datura stramonium, the plant can induce auditory and visual hallucinations, sometimes ending in a tragedy.
The plant contains Scopolamine that takes away a person's vision and so the panicked consumer becomes involved in accidents.
Now comes the worse part: administering anesthesia in the hospital, combined with the Datura, is usually fatal due to respiratory depression.
Have a great weekend!
24 comments:
Wonderful flowers and interesting reading.
Hi Maia!
I must've seen this flower before.
It looks so striking!
Great share this weekend.
Have a safe and happy week!
Fantastic photos with great quality ... thanks for the interesting information ...
LG: Karin
Nice flowers. The 3. one I like most. :) lg Tina
So this is called Datura... I've seen this kind before at few times and it's really lovely and unique. But it's only until now that I know its name. Thanks for this very informative post.
Great pictures, Maia.
Blessings of good health to you.
That spiky fruit reminds me of the puffer fish - deadly. It appears that spiky stuff are best avoided! Interesting psor, Maia.
Rosie
Joining for the first time, I love your moon flowers!
I was so excited to find your site, having just finished painting my Datura and posting the process on my blog!
Your description is informative, clearly presented and interesting, AND your photos are absolutely stunning!!
A beautiful but deadly plant. Another blogging friend and I have been discussing datura recently. She has one at her home and I have spotted a variety here in town.
I've seen the black colour Datura here, but didn't know it's name till now.
Thank you for these details on Datura. I have never seen this variety in real life.
Just today I was reading a post showing the painting of these flowers on Barbara Rosenzweig's blogspot (won't use a link, but her blog goes by her name).
Thank you Piece of Sunshine, she has a comment above with a link.
I always love this flower. Beautiful photos.
Thanks so much Maia for letting me know about the "missing link!"
I guess that's what I get for staying up so late to post!
I appreciate your talent!
Gorgeous captures!
Yikes!! I never knew that the Datura was so poisonous! Also, how fascinating that it opens at night! Your photos are beautiful - must have been hard to capture with such low light. Glad to have found your blog and I'm a new follower.
What a beautiful flower! You did a great job photographing it, as white is very difficult to expose properly.
A cada semana conheço uma flor diferente, exuberante, linda! Boa semana para todos!
Very interesting, and an especially beautiful flower photo. But I thought Angel's Trumpet WAS brugmansia!!
Indeed a great beauty with its pure white blooms!
Yes Sara, you are right; Angel's Trumpet is a common name for several species: Datura, Brugmansia and Maurandya barclayana, a climbing plant. Common names very regionally, that's why I always mention their botanical name too.
I love the shape of this beautiful flower, but my goodness it can be deadly!
Hi, lovely to meet you, thank you for hosting this link up. Your work is wonderful, great photo's!
Just discovered this photo meme! Thanks for hosting.
Gorgeous flower-- had no idea it was poisonous. Giggled over the "fatal' last line--- then 'Have a great weekend!'. ;o)
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