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Jimsonweed
A common toxic weed of disturbed ground with upright trumpet flowers and spiny 'thornapple' seed pods - strongly poisonous in every part, its seeds most of all, and a frequent cause of fatal poisoning through misuse. Recognize it, remove it from where people and animals go, and never experiment with it.
Safety notes STRONGLY TOXIC - never eat, brew, or ingest any part, and never use it as a drug. Every part contains tropane alkaloids causing hallucinations, delirium, high fever, and death; the SEEDS are especially concentrated. People (often teens) dangerously misuse it as a hallucinogen, often fatally. It is a common weed of disturbed ground with a foul smell and spiny 'thornapple' seed pods. Keep children, pets, and livestock away; if ingestion is suspected, call poison control immediately.
Overview
Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) is a common, coarse, foul-smelling weed of disturbed ground - barnyards, field edges, gardens, roadsides, and waste places - and one of the more dangerous poisonous plants a person is likely to meet in an ordinary landscape. Like its ornamental relative angel's trumpet, it belongs to the nightshade family and contains tropane alkaloids (scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine) in every part, causing severe poisoning: hallucinations, delirium, high fever, racing heart, and death. The seeds, held in its distinctive spiny 'thornapple' pods, are the most concentrated and the usual cause of serious poisoning.
Jimsonweed's danger runs along two tracks. It causes accidental poisoning - of children drawn to the pods and seeds, of livestock, and of people who mistake it for an edible plant - and it causes deliberate poisoning, because, like angel's trumpet, it is periodically misused as a hallucinogen, most often by teenagers, with results that are terrifying and frequently fatal. This identification and safety guide exists to help you recognize the plant (jagged foul-smelling leaves, upright trumpet flowers, spiny seed pods), remove it from places children, pets, and animals use, and understand clearly that it must never be eaten, brewed, or used as a drug. Any suspected ingestion or misuse is an emergency.
Quick facts
For identification. Not a growing guide.
- Height
- 48 inRange: 24–60 in
- Spread
- 36 inRange: 18–48 in
- Cold
- Killed by frostdamaged below 30°F
- Heat
- Struggles above 105°F
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Self-sows
- Yes. Never let it set seed.
- Habitat
- Full sun · Part sun, well-drained soil
Through the year
A field guide through time
Explore the stages to recognize this plant throughout its life.
Stage 1 of 4 · The recurring year
Coarse foul-smelling weed (identify & avoid)
May to Jul, every year
Know this stage
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Big jagged leaves with a rank smell, on disturbed ground
Jimsonweed is a coarse, fast-growing annual weed (2-5 feet) with large, jagged, coarsely toothed or lobed leaves on branching, sometimes purplish stems, and a strong, unpleasant, rank smell when the foliage is bruised. It grows on DISTURBED ground - barnyards, field edges, gardens, roadsides, waste places, and overgrazed pasture. Learn its foul-smelling, jagged-leaved look; never handle it without gloves or let the sap reach your mouth or eyes.
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Keep it from children, pets, livestock, and any experimentation
Because every part is strongly toxic, remove jimsonweed from areas children, pets, or livestock use, and be aware that its greatest danger is deliberate misuse: it is sometimes brewed or eaten as a hallucinogen, which regularly causes severe poisoning or death. Never allow it to be used this way. Its seeds are the most concentrated and the most common cause of serious poisoning.
Months are typical seasonal windows; climate, variety, and plant age can shift them.
Hazards
Deliberate Misuse HazardSeverity High HazardnowSeason: year-roundSigns the plant or its seeds are being harvested, brewed, chewed, or discussed for recreational use, especially by teens; a poisoned person who may not admit what they took.
Signs the plant or its seeds are being harvested, brewed, chewed, or discussed for recreational use, especially by teens; a poisoned person who may not admit what they took.
Any suspected misuse is a medical emergency - call poison control / emergency services immediately and be honest about what was taken; prevention and open communication are the only reliable safeguards.
Never use it as a drug and make clear to others (especially teens) that it must not be; remove plants from accessible areas before they seed; keep seeds and all parts out of reach; and have open conversations about the real danger.
The plant's most distinctive danger: because of its psychoactive alkaloids, people (often teenagers) sometimes brew or eat jimsonweed seeds or leaves seeking a hallucinogen. This regularly causes severe poisoning, terrifying delirium, permanent harm, and death, because the toxic and 'active' doses are dangerously close and unpredictable.
Poisoning by Ingestion (deadly, esp. seeds)Severity High HazardnowSeason: year-roundAny ingestion of seeds, pods, leaves, or flowers (children are drawn to the spiny pods); symptoms can include agitation, hallucinations, flushed dry skin, dilated pupils, fever, and rapid heartbeat - a medical emergency.
Any ingestion of seeds, pods, leaves, or flowers (children are drawn to the spiny pods); symptoms can include agitation, hallucinations, flushed dry skin, dilated pupils, fever, and rapid heartbeat - a medical emergency.
Suspected ingestion is an EMERGENCY - call poison control / emergency services (or a vet) immediately; do not wait for symptoms. Treatment is urgent supportive medical care; tell responders it is a tropane-alkaloid (Datura) plant.
Recognize it and keep every part, especially the seeds, away from children, pets, and livestock; never eat, brew, or taste any part; remove plants before they seed; and keep it out of pasture, hay, and feed.
The hazard is severe poisoning of people or animals: every part contains tropane alkaloids (scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine), with the SEEDS most concentrated. Poisoning causes hallucinations, delirium, dilated pupils, high fever, racing heartbeat, and death, and the alkaloid content varies unpredictably.
Livestock Poisoning & Contaminated FeedSeverity Medium HazardnowSeason: Jun–OctJimsonweed in pastures, hay fields, or grain; spiny pods or seeds contaminating harvested feed; signs of poisoning in animals with access to it or to contaminated feed.
Jimsonweed in pastures, hay fields, or grain; spiny pods or seeds contaminating harvested feed; signs of poisoning in animals with access to it or to contaminated feed.
A veterinary matter - call a veterinarian for suspected cases; prevention (weed control and clean feed) is the reliable safeguard.
Control jimsonweed in pastures and hay/grain fields before it seeds, inspect feed for pods and seeds, and keep animals off heavily infested ground.
Jimsonweed poisons livestock that graze it or, more often, eat it in contaminated hay, silage, or grain, since the seeds can end up in harvested feed. Animals usually avoid the rank fresh plant but are poisoned when it's mixed into feed.
Grower tips
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