Datura Flower: The Poisonous Beauty
The datura flower is commonly called angel’s trumpet. It belongs to the nightshade family and is a genus of over nine poisonous plants. Datura is cultivated mainly for ornamental and medicinal purposes.
As you read this, you can learn the following;
* Datura Flower Description
* How to Grow Datura Flower
* How to Care for Datura Flower
* Species of Datura Flower
* Health Benefits of Datura Plant
Datura Flower Description
Datura is cultivated mainly for ornamental and medicinal purposes. Datura is categorized as weeds in some places because they grow on roadsides and unwanted locations. The datura plant has a striking resemblance to plants of genus brugmansia.
Datura species are short-lived perennials or sprawling herbaceous annuals. Their flowers are large and trumpet-shaped. The sweet-smelling flowers of datura species have color pink, white, purple, and yellow. Their fruits are capsule-like, and they have lots of seeds.
The leaves of the plant are well arranged and simple. The plants have a lobed, wavy, or entire margin, which is poisonous to the internal organs of humans and animals, this is due to the presence of alkaloids in the plant.
How to Grow Datura Flower
Datura is native to the tropical Americas, and today, the plant is grown in many gardens across the world. In some locations, datura flowers grow as weeds. Datura is a rugged perennial herbaceous plant that has a firm root and can grow to a height of 1.5m.
Datura is so easy to grow that even a novice in gardening can grow this plant effectively as long as he/she follows the rules. For them to thrive well in an environment, you may need to apply compost heap or ordinary manure to the soil.
The plant forms a beautiful shade over the soil where it’s planted and can diffuse an unpleasant smell.
Things you need;
* Scissors
* Large pan
* Indoor potting soil
* Fluorescent grow light
* 2-inch starter pots
Here are the steps to grow datura plant
Get a 2-inch pot and fill it with indoor potting soil. Put the seeds into the center of the soil, then make a little hole in the soil, and press the seed into it.
Sprinkle a little soil over the seed; this prevents it from drying out or being picked by lizards. Sprinkle a little water on the seed. Carefully put the pot into a much larger container, and pour water in the large container, let the water reach half of the small pot’s height. Let the small pot sit in the large container till the soil surface is moist. You should add more water to the container if the pot absorbs all the water, you can remove the pot when the soil surface is wet.
Place the pots in a location where the temperature is between 64 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit till the seed germinates. Some best spots for keeping the pot are on the top of a refrigerator and a seed-starting mat.
When the seed starts germinating, you should relocate the pot to an environment with artificial light. Place the pots at a distance of 5 inches to the lights, and increase the intensity of the light when the datura flower grows taller. Expose the plant to artificial light for about 14 hours every day.
When the plants are 2 inches tall, get rid of the weak seedlings by cutting them off with scissors.
You can move the pot outside when the environmental temperature is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, to do this, you must first, put the plant in the shade before outdoors for some hours, before gradually exposing it to sunlight. Move the pot indoors during frost, and transplant them outdoors after frost.
How to Care for Datura Flowers
Datura flowers require an environment with access to sunlight, a fertile, well-drained, and moist soil. This plant grows optimally in a warm environment and can die in winter and frosts.
Datura flowers grow well if it is well watered, the soil should always stay moist when the plant is in its growing period. In winter, it’s best to reduce the quantity of water it gets, but not to the extent that the soil dries. The datura plants are deciduous during winter. They bloom faster if you give them weak liquid plant food. They can’t flourish in an environment where they get partial shade. They hardly suffer from pest infestation and diseases.
Species of Datura Flower
Datura arborea: This plant is treelike, and they grow to a height of 15ft. The plant is a green-veined flower that can grow up to 9 in., it also has soft-hairy leaves that are 8 in long.
Datura metel: This is an annual plant that can grow to a height of 5ft. They have a purple calyx and large flowers that are violet on the outside and white on the inside.
Datura wrightii: This specie of datura is classified as anticholinergic and a deliriant.
Datura stramonium: They are a specie of the datura flower that is naturalized in northern America.
Health Benefits of Datura Plant
Fever Treatment: Herbalists use the fruit of datura stramonium for treating fever, the fruit is also used for treating malaria.
Improved Fertility: The most prominent use of datura is to improve fertility, increase sexual energy, and boost libido. Although details are still sketchy on how it can help to improve productivity, there are numerous testimonies about its effectiveness.
If you soak the seed in milk or water for a few minutes, you can drink it to improve the flow of blood to your genitals, thus improving fertility. It also helps to improve the health of the testes and ovaries. Hair
Growth: If you’re getting bald, you can easily create a salve for the hair that you can use to counter your male pattern baldness. It helps to improve the healthiness of your hair and prevent hair breakage.
Warning: Datura is very poisonous, and the consumption of any parts of the body should be done under the supervision of a health professional. The use of this plant is restricted in some countries.
