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 Leaves Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Fruit Carolyn Chilcote @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Ries Lindley @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Attribution-Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC) | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual Similar Species: Datura wrightii
General Desc:
Can be short-lived perennial. Upright or low-lying bushy plant; thick, grayish-green stems, hairy to smooth; triangular green leaves are foul-smelling; showy, white, fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers, distinct purple markings in the throat.
Identification notes: Wavy toothed leaf margins; flowers white, purple markings in the throat, less than 6 inches long; fruits sticky, droop downward, hairy. Similar to D. wrightii but plants generally smaller with smaller flowers and fewer spines on the fruit.
Height:
To almost 5 feet
Habitat Description: Roadsides, waste grounds, drainage ditches, sandy, loose or gravelly soils of washes, river flats, river "bottoms" (low-lying land along a river) and wet, marshy areas at the edges of mountains, canyons and wet areas in grasslands (cienagas).
Plant Communities:
Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: Below 2000 feet
Color:
White, purple markings
Shape:
Regular not in clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Mar - Oct
Description:
Upright, fragrant, night-blooming, trumpet-shaped, solitary flowers to about 6 inches long. 4 inch wide white blooms have a purple-stained throat which widens at the top forming 10 sections each with a sharp, tapering point extending beyond the bloom.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Triangular
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves with stalks up to 7-1/2 inches long and 6 inches wide have a strongly wavy to toothed margin. Leaves are somewhat hairy on both upper and lower surfaces with short, soft hairs.
Fruit Color: Green to purple, ages brown
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Round sticky fruit to 1-1/2 inches wide which bends to 1 side and droops downward, has short, soft hairs and is covered with 200 to 300 large, sharp, thorn-like prickles to 1-1/4 inches long. Fruit splits along 4 seams to release seeds.
Seed Notes: Seeds are black when ripe, have a wrinkled surface, are kidney-shaped and about an 1/8 inch long. Fresh seeds have a small, white bump on 1 side which is called a "caruncle".
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