Hallucinogenic Devils Trumpet Plant Found In British Garden

Wed, 11 Aug 2010

A highly toxic, hallucinogenic South American plant has been discovered growing in a garden in Keresley, near Coventry, according to reports.

Sharon Nowell spotted the rare datura stramonium while wandering among the shrubs and blooms of her parents' back garden .

The 36-year-old thought the green shoots were the beginnings of a marrow or possibly a common weed at first, but after doing some online research she soon discovered that the plant was actually a highly poisonous plant that is commonly known as the devil's trumpet, the devil's apple, the devil's snare, thorn apple and jimson weed.

She said: "It's been growing about a foot a week, it's a monster now. My parents know exactly what is in their garden so they knew they hadn't planted it, but they thought it was just a weed. It started to grow really quickly and we thought it was a marrow or something."

"Out of curiosity we decided to let it grow and it's just flourished. It's got these huge leaves about a foot long each and the stem is like a rhubarb plant . It develops large trumpet-like flowers and when they drop off these pods appear."

"It's a really dodgy plant to have in the garden . I was gobsmacked when I found out about it being hallucinogenic. It's a real alien. But it's a shame to cut it down if there was someone out there who wanted it for research."

Datura stramonium is a member of the Deadly Nightshade family. Its poison causes dry mouth, blurred vision, heart irregularities, hallucinations, and eventually coma and death in severe cases.

It is traditionally used by South American Indians to poison their hunting spears, arrows and fishing hooks, and in traditional ceremonies.

Experts from the Royal Horticultural Society believe its appearance in the Coventry garden originated from the droppings of migrating birds flying from the Atlantic.
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