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Michael Charters, www.calflora.net
Solanaceae
DATURA wrightii
Thornapple
This large bushy herbaceous perennial (or annual) from the American West is best in early morning when its flowers stand open to the dawn sky. It is found in dry washes, rocky hillsides and waste places from sea level to middle elevations in northern Mexico and the United States Plains and Southwest
This heat-lover relies on a deep tap root to reach moisture trapped beneath dry soil. Its downy, oval, dark green or gray-green leaves have a fetid scent. Throughout summer, large, fragrant, white to pale violet trumpet-flowers with toothed lobes open at dusk. They are often visited and pollinated by nocturnal hawk moths. Individual flowers bloom for just a few hours, withering with the heat of the day. The seed pods known as thorn-apples are quite spiny to protect the seed from wildlife.
This sun-loving plant thrives in dry poor soils and is toxic to most herbivores. Relatively cold-hardy, it can be grown in containers or as an annual outside its hardiness range. Closely related to the genus Brugmansia, which bears downward facing trumpet flowers, Datura holds its flowers erect. This coarse and rather gawky perennial works well in naturalistic plantings and other informal settings. Closely related to Datura inoxia, it is sometimes included under that plant as subspecies quinquecuspida.
This plant self-sows in some areas, sometimes invasively.
See http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=184&p_type=all&p_sci=sci&p_x=px for information about the health hazards associated with this plant.
12 - 1
7 - 12
A1, A2, A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Perennial
Full Sun
2'-3' / 0.6m - 0.9m
3'-6' / 0.9m - 1.8m
Late Spring, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Fall
South-Central United States, Western United States, Southwestern United States, Mexico
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Drought
Fast
Xeric/Desert, Drought Tolerant, Average Water
Spreading
Spring, Summer, Fall
Showy
White, Light Pink
Yellow, Green
Gray Green, Dark Green
Yes
No
Single
Coarse
Matte
Container, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower
Sometimes
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