Datura inoxia Mill., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 21 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: angel's trumpet, downy thorn-apple, Indian-apple, sacred datura, thorn apple

French: datura innocente

Spanish: cacaito, toloache

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stout annual herb, tomentose with erect, glandular hairs.  Mature leaves broadly ovate, the lamina up to 20 cm long, almost entire, slightly sinuate, or irregularly lobed towards base.  Calyx 5-11 cm long, 3-6-lobed; lobes 13-20 mm long, sometimes incompletely separated.  Corolla 12-19 cm long, white with green veins; limb undulate, appearing 10-lobed, alternate lobes broadly triangular or ending in a slender point 5-10 mm long.  Stamens not exserted; anthers 8-10 mm long.  Style 10-14 cm long; stigma well below anthers.  Capsule globose or nearly so, 3-5 cm long, deflexed, spiny; spines numerous, slender, sharp, all about equal in length, to 10 mm long; persistent base of calyx to 20 mm long, very prominent.  Seeds 4-5 mm long, brown"  (George, 1982; pp. 193-194).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Caledonia, "assez commun comme mauvaise herbe; jamais signalé comme cultivé" (MacKee, 1994; p. 130). In Australia, a weed of disturbed areas (George, 1982; pp. 193-194).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Native to Mexico, South America and the West Indies, but now widely distributed in warmer regions of the world" (George, 1982; pp. 193-194).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 130) Vouchers cited: Franc 855, Catala 134, MacKee 8232, MacKee 21047

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Datura inoxia is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Datura inoxia may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

George, A. S., ed. 1982. Flora of Australia. Vol. 29, Solanaceae. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.