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  • Up-to-date information about California vascular plants is available from the Jepson eFlora.

SOLANACEAE

NIGHTSHADE FAMILY

Michael Nee

Annual to shrub
Leaves generally simple, generally alternate, generally petioled; stipules 0; blade entire to deeply lobed
Inflorescence various
Flower bisexual; calyx lobes generally 5; corolla ± radial, cylindric to rotate, lobes generally 5; stamens 5, alternate corolla lobes; ovary superior, generally 2-chambered, style 1
Fruit: berry or capsule, 2–5-chambered
Genera in family: 75 genera, 3000 species: worldwide, especially ± tropical; many alien weeds in CA; many cultivated for food, drugs, or ornamental (potato, tomato, peppers, tobacco, petunia); many TOXIC.

DATURA

JIMSON WEED, THORN-APPLE

Annual to subshrub, ± glabrous or hairs simple, ill-smelling
Leaf entire to deeply lobed
Inflorescence: flowers solitary in branch forks
Flower: calyx circumscissile near base, leaving a ± rotate collar in fruit; corolla funnel-shaped, white or purplish, lobes 5(10); filaments attached below middle of corolla tube; ovary 2- or 4-chambered
Fruit: capsule, leathery or ± woody, generally prickled; valves 2–4, or indefinite
Seeds ± flat, black, brown, grayish brown, or tan
Species in genus: ± 13 species: warm regions, especially Mex
Etymology: (Hindu: ancient name)
All species. HIGHLY TOXIC; several ornamental, some source of drugs.

Native

D. discolor Bernh.

Annual < 5 dm
Stem grayish hairy
Leaf 6–12 cm, 4–10 cm wide, widely ovate, coarsely toothed
Flower erect; calyx 5–9 cm, 5-winged toward base, lobes 1–1.5 cm; corolla 10–16 cm, glabrous, white with purple markings in tube, lobes shallow; filaments 4.5 cm, anthers 5–6 mm; style 10–14 cm
Fruit 4-valved, nodding, 35 mm wide, puberulent; prickles < 2 cm
Seeds 3–3.5 cm, coarsely wrinkled, black with a white outgrowth near attachment scar
Chromosomes: n=12
Ecology: Sandy, gravelly soils, washes
Elevation: < 500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: Mexico
Flowering time: Apr–Oct

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