Datura metel L., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

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

Other Latin names:  Datura fastuosa L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: cornucopia, datura, downy thorn-apple, Hindu datura, Hindu thorn-apple, hoary thorn-apple, horn-of-plenty, jimson weed, metel, purple thorn-apple, thorn apple

I-Kiribati: te uri ni tiana

Maori (Cook Islands): pūāve, pūāve, pūāve, rākau pāoro-rōuru, rākau pōnikarāpu

Niuean: hiapo

Spanish: burladora

Tahitian: puaoe

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub to 1.5 m high or more.  Leaves simple, alternate, blade usually ovate, 7-25 cm long with toothed margins.  Flowers anytime during the year; flowers solitary, axillary.  Corolla with fused petals, funnel-shaped, shallowly five-lobed at the end, sometimes double-flowered, usually 13-20 cm long and purple on the outside and pale lavender to white inside, rarely white, blue, red, or yellow.  Fruit a green subglobose capsule 3-4 cm long, covered with short, blunt spines"  (Wagner, 2000; pp. 174-175).

"Herb, 1-2 m tall; leaves narrowly ovate, acute, sinuate-repand to lobed, glabrous or slightly puberulent, 4-25 cm long, 2-20 cm wide; petiole 1-16 cm long; flowers large, erect, yellow or purplish, or white, single or double (or triple); calyx 1/3-1/2 as long as corolla; corolla trumpet-like, commonly 12-18 cm long; anthers 1.3-2 cm long; fruit prickly or spiny, dehiscing irregularly; seeds yellow-brown.  There are several cultivars of this species"  (Stone, 1970; pp. 517-518).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "occasionally cultivated and sparingly naturalized in low elevation, open, dry, disturbed areas" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1255-1256).  In Fiji, "sometimes cultivated but also naturalized as a weed of waste places and sandy beaches" (Smith, 1991; p. 32).  In Niue, "a fairly common plant in all the villages.  It seeds prolifically and is really semi-adventive in some places, the seed germinating and the resulting plants being allowed to grow unattended" (Sykes, 1970; p. 194).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Central America (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1255, 1256).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Agrigan (Agrihan) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Agrigan (Agrihan) Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. (1975) (p. 39) Voucher cited: Fosberg 31566 (US) Single plant in garden.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island		McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island		McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Glassman, S. F. (1952) (p. 99)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Kandavu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 32) Voucher cited: Smith 296
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 32) Voucher cited: DA L.11635
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 32) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 354, DA 5619, DA 5595, DA 16778
Fiji Fiji Islands	Yasawas Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 32) Voucher cited: DA 13654
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 271)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 271) Voucher cited: Moore 730
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 271)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tupai (Tubai) Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 271) Voucher cited: Grant 4553
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tupai (Tubai) Island	introduced	Sachet, M.-H. (1983) (p. 22) Voucher cited: Grant 4553 (BISH)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 517-518)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244) Cultivated?
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1255, 1257) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1255, 1257) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1255, 1257) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1255, 1257) Sparingly naturalized.
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Abaiang Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Abemama Atoll	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 9) Voucher: Imada 2003-169 (BISH 697780)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Butaritari Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tamana Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 9) Voucher: Imada 2003-33 (BISH 697648)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 198)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 130) Vouchers cited: Däniker 137 (Z), Baumann 11043, MacKee 28600 Spontané
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 194) Vouchers cited: CHR 170257, CHR 170259
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 106) Vouchers cited: Yuncker 9684 (BISH), Yuncker 10160 (BISH) "Occasional in waste areas".
Palau Palau (main island group)	Angaur Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 244)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 101)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Malakal Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 97)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngercheu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (pp. 8, 14) Carp Resort
Palau Palau (main island group)	Peleliu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 106)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 120)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 120)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 19)
Maldives Maldive Islands	Malè Atoll		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 32) "Spontaneous in waste places". Voucher cited: Fosberg 36842 (US)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 120)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 137) Voucher cited: Stoddart 7260 (US)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Coetivy Island		Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 155) Voucher cited: Robertson 3142 (K)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Cousin Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 32) Voucher cited: Fosberg 52190 (US)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Desnoeufs Island		Wilson, J. R. (1983) (p. 210)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 61) Voucher cited: Robertson 2730
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Marie-Louise Island		Wilson, J. R. (1983) (p. 195)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Platte Island		Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 163) Voucher cited: Robertson 3043 (K)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Poivre Island		Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 174) Voucher cited: Robertson 2336 (K)

Comments:  Recorded from Butaritari, Kiribati, by Fosberg et al. (1979; p. 244) but not seen by Space & Imada (2004).

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

Information about Datura metel as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

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

Other Latin names:  Datura fastuosa L.

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1957. The Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 58. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 37 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1983. Natural history of Cousin Island. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. 1975. Vascular flora of the northern Marianas Islands. Smithsonian Contrib. Bot. 22:1-45.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. Bishop Mus. Bull. 209: 1-152.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1993. Flora of Australia. Vol. 50, Oceanic islands 2. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. List of plants collected on Coetivy Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. List of plants collected on Platte Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. List of plants of Poivre Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Sachet, M.-H. 1983. Botanique de l'ile de Tupai, Iles de la Societe. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 276. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 26 pp. + photos.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. Report to the Republic of Kiribati on invasive plant species on the islands of Tarawa, Abemama, Butaritari and Maiana. Cont. no. 2003-006 to the Pac. Biol. Surv. USDA Forest Service and Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 103 pp.

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. (In press).

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

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

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1990. Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands: The plants, their Maori names, and their uses. Allertonia 5(4):347-424.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

Wilson, J. R. 1983. Ecology of Marie-Louise, Amirantes Islands. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Wilson, J. R. 1983. Ecology of Desnoeufs, Amirantes Islands. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.