General: Jimson Weed (Datura wrightii), or Datura, is a rounded,
dark green shrub-like perennial forb. The leaves are large and dark
green, the flowers are large, white trumpets, and the fruit is a thorny
apple. The flowers open in the afternoon and evening, then wilt the following day.
Jimson Weed is a fairly common component of the
vegetation community in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage
Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave
Desert Scrub) life zones. Watch for it along roadsides.
Jimson Weed is toxic -- don't mess with it.
Family: Nightshade (Solenaceae).
Other Names: Datura, thorn-apple. |