prairie point

jimson weed

The dramatic purple-tinged trumpets of my Datura wrightii bloom only at night. They are big flowers that fill the air with their fragrance. You've probably seen some famous paintings of datura by Georgia O'Keefe.

Gardeners tend to be sharply divided over daturas. The foliage is large and ungainly and worst of all it is poisonous. Some people get a rash just from touching them. The infamous jimson weed or Jamestown weed is a datura. On one of my gardening discussion boards recently I learned that it can also be used as a treatment for asthma. Native Americans used it as a medicine and as a hallucinogen. It was one of the plants Don Juan used in the Carlos Castaneda books. I've never tried it but I suggest staying away from it. If you are interested you can learn more about it here.

I enjoy seeing the big white flowers in the late evening but I keep the plant trimmed to a small size and hidden behind other plants, so it is less visible and less likely to be accidently touched.