Or Datura meteloides; a tender plant which is very similar to the better known Brugmansia (commonly known as angels’ trumpets). I bought a packet of Datura seeds a few years ago. They germinated well, and growth was initially good, but all of the plants slowed down (I’ve kept some indoors, and others in an unheated greenhouse) and have never grown to more than about 20cm. But the flowers are spectacular. The buds elongate, and the petals emerge in a whorl…
The whorl opens to a star…
And then, finally you get to see the full trumpet…
The seed packet said that, like Brugmansia, Datura are woody plants – shrubs – but mine seem to die back in winter. Even the two I have indoors mostly died back. Some of last year’s growth survived the winter, but it clung onto life looking sickly and yellow, while new, healthy shoots from the base overtook it.
In researching this post, I discovered some very interesting facts about this plant, particularly here. I can confirm that the leaves are sticky, and do have a very strange smell about them. I wouldn’t call it unpleasant exactly. But whatever you do, don’t lick your fingers after touching it!
It’s a curious co-incidence that Datura meteloides has a synonym of Datura Wrightii, as Wright is my surname. I remember once seeing a cactus (an unpromising, ground-crawling thing) with the name Wrightii, so I guess there must have been a plant collector in that part of the world (North/Central America) who shared my surname.
Apparently D. meteloides (or D. Wrightii) is native to Arizona. Which explains another phenomenon. Some of my plants produced impressive, spiky seed capsules, similar to a conker, which burst open to reveal lovely big, round, black seeds. I must have dropped some in one of the beds, because earlier this summer, seedlings started to appear. They had long seed leaves (which threw me, as the seeds were round) and I couldn’t initially identify them. Worried they might be from a mutant perennial sunflower we made the mistake of planting two years ago, and now can’t get rid of, I pulled the first few out. When more came up I decided to take a chance and see what they turned into. And here they are…
In the eight days since taking this photo they’ve doubled in size, and numerous flower buds are forming. They’ve grown through two heatwaves, in full sun for much of the day, remaining lush and healthy, despite my never having given them a single drop of water. Apparently having evolved in the Arizona desert, I suppose our little hot spells are nothing out of the ordinary for them. But looking ahead to increasingly hot, dry summers here in the UK (more about that next time), these plants could be the ultimate easy to grow, maintenance-free summer bedding – throw the seeds on the ground and watch your beds fill with the most amazing, tropical-looking foliage and flowers. Then again, they could just be the next Himalayan Balsam. Oh my god – what have I done?!
When the flowers are out, I’ll post another photo. This could be amazing!
Text & images © graham wright 2022
