Thorn Apple

Today's the day …………………… for a toxic weed

I've said before how enjoyable it has been to see what plants have appeared in our new garden as the growing season has advanced.  But there was one that was unknown to us - and, quite frankly - it had an evil look about it right from the start.

It appeared from nowhere in the middle of a flower border - just a single plant that grew quickly and produced a white, trumpet-shaped flower.  Then after the flower came this huge green spiny chestnut-like fruit.  We let it grow, more out of curiosity than anything - and soon a few more of them appeared.  It was time to identify it. 

So it appears that it is a Datura stramonium or thorn apple as it is commonly known.  It is usually found in warmer countries but it has become quite common in the British Isles, often appearing in waste and cultivated ground.  It belongs to the Solanaceae, a family which includes the potato and tobacco and (here's the rub) all parts, particularly the seeds, are highly poisonous?!

The most likely way that it got into our garden apparently is among the seed for wild birds put into feeders.  And it's not all gloom and doom because the plants are easy to spot - and if you remove them before the seedhead has a chance to ripen, then that will be an end of them.

Let's hope so …………………….!