Datura Datura spp


  • Common Names
  • Datura , Jimsonweed, metel nut, Thorn Apple
  • Botanical Name
  • Datura spp
  • Family
  • SOLANACEAE
Share

Medicinal Uses & Benefits of Datura

remedyHow to Use| Side Effects | Plant & Garden|

How to Use: Datura


Varied species of Datura have been used in traditional medicine worldwide, primary among them Datura innoxia,Datura metel, and Datura stramonium. Datura are potent members of the Solanaceae family, relatives of other well known narcotic plants such as henbane and mandrake. The primary use of datura is as a hallucinogenic and intoxicant, though it does have medicinal uses.Seeds or powered datura leaves are part of the traditional medcine of Indochina and Africa. Datura is often mixed with cannabis and this mixture is smoked to relieve asthma and rheumatism. In Mexico it was taken by women to relieve the pain of childbirth. The seeds are added to wine and beer to increase intoxication.

Preparation Methods & Dosage :In TCM, flowers and seed of Datura were used to treat skin eruptions, colds, and nervous disorders. It was mixed with cannabis in wine to use as a narcotic for surgical procedures.


Datura Side Effects: Seeds are extremely toxic, the leaves less so,the whole plant contains powerful alkaloids. This is not a plant to be taken lightly. Can be fatal and cause permanent mental imbalances if abused.

^ Top^

Plant Description


  • Flowers: Trumpet shaped, erect flowers, some all white, some tinged with red, yellow or blue.
  • Plant Class: herbaceous, leafy annuals and short-lived perennials, bushy plants reaching 2 feet in height
  • Leaves:Alternate, 10–20 cm long and 5–18 cm broad, with a lobed or toothed edges.
  • Fruit: A spiny capsule that contains many seeds.
  • Preferred Habitat:
  • Flowering Season:
  • Distribution: temperate and tropical regions worldwide

Regional Traditions :Central and South America * Traditional Chinese Medicine *

Related Species

Brugmansia was once classified with Datura but is not considered a separate genus in the family Solanaceae. Their large, fragrant flowers give them their common name of angel's trumpets, a common name sometimes also used for the closely related genus Datura.


History and Traditions & Folklore

Datura has been employed as both a medicinal and ceremonial plant in many diverse cultures including Chinese, Zuni Indian, Mexican and Native Americans of the Southwest. Recorded use can be traced back to early Sanskrit, Chinese and Arabian writings. The noted eleventh century Arabian physician mentioned the herb as "metel nut", and the Greek Dioscordies wrote of it as well. The name datura was adapted to Latin by Linnaeus from the Sanskrit Dhatura. Datura was used as a surgical anesthesia by the Chinese, who imported the plant from India between A.D. 960 and 1644. In the Americas datura has played a major role in religious rites and medicine and is detailed in the earliest herbal of the New World, the Codex Berberina Latina, circa 1542. 1
References:
books citedWorks Cited
  1. Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofman, Christian Ratcsch Plants of the Gods 1992