Datura (many species)  Plant Info:
Datura (also called "jimsonweed" or "devil's weed"), a perennial herb, is found in all the major deserts of the American Southwest and in the West Indies. It grows mostly in sandy washes and along substantial roadsides. Its dark grayish-green, heart-shaped leaves form mounds from which, in summer to fall, sprout striking, 6-inch-long, flowers which are usually white but some species are not white. They ripen to become sharp-prickly seed-pods.A plant of great beauty, datura is a member of the Nightshade family (Solanaceae), and all parts of it are considered toxic.
Each large, trumpet-shaped, luminous blossom of the Datura plant blooms for only one summer night, and must therefore work fast to attract its pollinators. The flower opens early -- at twilight -- and releases a strong lemon-like scent. The insect consumes the flower's nectar, then lays its eggs on the plant. The larvae then consume the leaves down to their nubs, but the Datura plant also has large, tuberous roots which store nutrients against these assaults.
There are a large number of Datura species and all contain the highly toxic alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine. According to Hernámdez, the Aztecs called the plant toloatzin, and used it long before the Spanish conquest of Mexico for many therapeutic purposes, such as poultices for wounds where it acts as an anodyne. Although the Aztecs warned against madness and "various and vain imaginings", many native Americans have used the plant as an entheogen for hallucinations and rites of passage. The alkaloids of these plants are very similar to those of mandrake, deadly nightshade, and henbane, which are also highly poisonous plants used cautiously for effective pain relief in antiquity. Datura seed pod | Mythology:
Once upon a time a long, long time ago, a boy called A'neglakya and his sister A'neglakyatsi-tsa lived deep within the Earth. As often as they could they came up to the surface to go on long walks, exploring the land, watching and listening carefully to all and everything they encountered on their journeys. Upon their return they told their mother about everything they had seen. However, one day the twin-sons of the Sun-god grew suspicious of them and they wondered what they should do about the inquisitive pair. Soon after, A'neglakya and his sister were once again on one of their walkabouts, when they came upon the sons of the Sun-god. Casually the twins inquired about their well-being: "We are very happy" was the reply, and A'neglakya told the twins how he and his sister could make people fall asleep and have visionary dreams or let them 'see' the whereabouts of lost objects. Upon hearing this the twins decided that the two definitely knew too much and that they should put an end to A'neglakya's and A'neglakyatsi-tsa's doings. That day the sons of the Sun-god let the brother and sister disappear into the Earth forever. But lo and behold, two beautiful flowers emerged from the ground in just the same spot where the two had vanished. They were the same flowers that the brother and sister had laid on the heads of the people to give them visions. In their memory the Gods called the flower A'neglakya and their children spread far across the Earth - bringing visions to many people.
This Zuni legend about the origin of Datura also provides an insight into the nature of its essential character. A'neglakya and his sister could 'make people fall asleep and have visionary dreams'. Since time immemorial various Datura species have been revered as sacred visionary plants by practically all cultures who have come into contact with it.
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