NAME: Datura stramonium
FAMILY NAME: Solanaceae
COMMON NAMES: Stink weed, thorn apple, devil's trumpet, jimson-weed, devil's snare
LOCAL NAMES: Apikan, ododo-omode, zakami suturamai rawiya, Myaramuo
MORPHOLOGY: Datura stramonium is an erect, annual, freely branching herb that forms a bush up to 60 to 150 cm (2 to 5 ft) tall. The root is long, thick, fibrous, and white. The stem is stout, erect, leafy, smooth, and pale yellow-green to reddish purple in color. The stem forks off repeatedly into branches and each fork forms a leaf and a single, erect flower. The leaves are about 8 to 20 cm (3–8 in) long, smooth, toothed, soft, and irregularly undulated. The upper surface of the leaves is a darker green, and the bottom is a light green. The leaves have a bitter and nauseating taste, which is imparted to extracts of the herb, and remains even after the leaves have been dried.
USEFUL PART(S): Leaves, seeds, root
GENERAL USES: employed in traditional/modern medicine to treat a variety of ailments
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: USA, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, Europe
WHY IS IT GREEN: Asthma, cough, astringent, aphrodisiac, mental disorders, gonorrhoea, lumbago, neuralgic, insomnia, anodyne, sedative, antispasmodic
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: The extracts could serve as botanical pesticides. It also serve as Host of pest
FUN FACT: Ornament and accidentally as a contaminant.
Competes aggressively with native plants and crops
FURTHER READING:
Priyanka S., Anees A. S., Jaya D., and Vishal S., 2012, Pharmacological properties of Datura stramonium L. as a potential medicinal tree: An overview. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. doi: 10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60014-3
Swathi S, Murugananthan G, Ghosh SK, Pradeep AS. Larvicidal and repellent activities of ethanolic extract of Datura stramonium leaves against mosquitoes. Int J Pharm Phytochem Res. 2012;4(1):25–27.
Khandare KR, Salve SB. Management of wilt of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) through biopesticide (leaf extracts) Int Refer Res J. 2011;2(18):21–22.
Bouzidi A, Mahdeb N, Kara N. Toxicity studies of alkaloids of seeds of Datura stramonium and synthesis alkaloids in male rats. J Med Plants Res. 2011;5(15):3421–3431.
Oviedo Prieto R, Herrera Oliver P, Caluff MG, et al. , 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba, 6(Special Issue 1):22-96
Macharia, I., Backhouse, D., Wu, S. B., Ateka, E. M., 2016. Weed species in tomato production and their role as alternate hosts of Tomato spotted wilt virus and its vector Frankliniella occidentalis. Annals of Applied Biology, 169(2), 224-235. doi: 10.1111/aab.12297
Ðikić M, Suljić N, Sarajlić N, Gadžo D, 2017. Distribution of jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.) in the city of Sarajevo. Radovi Poljoprivrednog Fakulteta Univerziteta u Sarajevu\Works of the Faculty of Agriculture University of Sarajevo. 62 (67(2)), 279-286.
Gharabadiyan F, Jamali S, Yazdi AA, Hadizadeh MH, Eskandari A, 2012. Weed hosts of root-knot nematodes in tomato fields. Journal of Plant Protection Research, 52(2):230-234. http://versita.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=428087616X360N23
Witt A, Beale T, Wilgen B W van, 2018. An assessment of the distribution and potential ecological impacts of invasive alien plant species in eastern Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 73 (3), 217-236. DOI:10.1080/0035919X.2018.1529003
Fuhlbohm, M. J., Ryley, M. J., Aitken, E. A. B., 2012. New weed hosts of Macrophomina phaseolina in Australia. Australasian Plant Disease Notes, 7(1), 193-195. doi: 10.1007/s13314-012-0082-6
Witt A, Luke Q, 2017. Guide to the naturalized and invasive plants of Eastern Africa. [ed. by Witt A, Luke Q]. Wallingford, UK: CABI. vi + 601 pp. http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158959 DOI:10.1079/9781786392145.0000