The scariest plant in the world, Datura aka (jimson weed)

[HarrogateTobias]

When i stumbled across this information i was shocked to say the least. I dont think many people know much about this plant and its unusual properties. It is a very common plant in south america and even grows wild on the streets of some towns.

""The Devil's Breath." It's a substance so intense that it renders a person incapable of exercising free will"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...free-will.html

There is documentary on this plant on youtube which i will not link as it is age restricted and shouldnt be watched by under 18's i will send you the link in a PM if you wish to see. Its really worth the watch!

[Toddy]

It's a long known intoxicant, poison, and religious use drug.....like a lot of other plants.
However, it's not native, it doesn't even grow as a weed here, in fact most of us will never see it. Where it does grow it's properties and problems are generally well known.

What got you so concerned about it ?

cheers,
Toddy

[Tengu]

Ive seen it in gardens.

In sure its easy enough to find the seeds if you want to have a go at growing it (In no gardner and to be frank, I find the flowers pretty dull. Give me sweet peas any day)

[HarrogateTobias]

It's a long known intoxicant, poison, and religious use drug.....like a lot of other plants.
However, it's not native, it doesn't even grow as a weed here, in fact most of us will never see it. Where it does grow it's properties and problems are generally well known.

What got you so concerned about it ?

cheers,
Toddy

well i suppose because anyone here could legally grow it process it and use it for evil deeds, i spent a month in a sao paulo slum where as a "gringo" there was a good chance this could have been used on myself. Even consuming a single seed of this plant would kill you fresh from the fruit.

Watch the video toddy

[Toddy]

The same could be said about many seeds.......from yew berries to caster oil plants.

Maybe the post would seem to have more relevance if you'd said it as a kind of warning to the unwary in a South American slum

Can't really see any of us growing it for 'evil deeds', not quite our style methinks

Cheers,
Toddy

[Hoodoo]

Very common plant around here. You don't need to go to SA. I knew some guys back in the 70s who ate a bunch of seeds one night. Two ended in up the hospital, one in jail. Very potent drug, to say the least.

[Androo]

The Vice Documentary?
There are a few Datura varieties that are easily grown in the UK with a little bit of protection. With a light assisted grow-room - the Datura variety you (and the documentary) mention is very easy to grow.
Sure, some of it's affects can be used for 'evil' purposes, but some varieties also have a long history of shamanic, medicinal and ritual use. Psychedelic plants/compounds have, are and always will be an important part of any human culture.

Some people (me included) say that we wouldn't be where we are as a species without psychedelic substances. And there are many powerful ones that grow freely in the UK. Datura is a minimal concern on this island!

[tinderbox]

Scopalamine would that be the plant alkaloid that's found in all members of the potato family? Especially belladonna, but also potato and tomato flowers.

[HarrogateTobias]

The same could be said about many seeds.......from yew berries to caster oil plants.

Maybe the post would seem to have more relevance if you'd said it as a kind of warning to the unwary in a South American slum

Can't really see any of us growing it for 'evil deeds', not quite our style methinks

Cheers,
Toddy

yew berries and castor oil plants? really?

what british seeds have the same effect? just a simple sniff of the processed drug is enough for complete control of yourself for 12 hours.

it seems i am in error by even highlighting this plant to the general public.

so i take it from general british BCUK that this is irrelivent info lol

[tinderbox]

Search for ricin and umbrella, also WMD and 45 minutes.

[forestwalker]

Can't really see any of us growing it for 'evil deeds', not quite our style methinks

What would the bushcraft way be? A suitable trap? Deadfall baited with a woodlore knife?

[Steffen]

interesting, i've also heard great things about ayahuasca.

[Steffen]

not quite our style methinks

if you only knew...
MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[xylaria]

you can get scopolamine from pharmasists as a travel sickness drug. The dose is very low but it is more than sniff. It is a useful drug in the right dose. Like opates they aren't dangerous unless the dosage is wrong. Datura grows as a weed in the south east of england.

Datura was used in combination with other herbs to produce general anathesia, the level of compounds in it were more predicable than mandrake.

[xylaria]

What would the bushcraft way be? A suitable trap? Deadfall baited with a woodlore knife?

Naaaa A cup of homebrew wine shared, and we will drink them under the table.

[Toddy]

I didn't know about the SE; interesting.
Isn't it fascinating how much our isolated island limited flora and fauna has increased in recent years ?
I knew of the plant as a herbal drug, of a few who used it as an intoxicant, I think most of that knowledge came from the men who came back from the Indian subcontinent though; the Death Apple that Kipling wrote about.

I don't think it has any hunting uses ? maybe to attract birds to the seeds? I was told that it taints the meat, but, as I said that knowledge is third/fourth hand.
Still can't see it being the scariest plant though. Lots of native hallucinogenics, toxins, available to be 'mis' used should someone so decide. As for the breath thing....sleeping under a Yew tree is not recommended either.

cheers,
Toddy

[bushwacker bob]

I see one of your sources is the Daily Mail.

enough said.

[geordienemisis]

Reading this I see that one of the plants chemicals is Atropine is this the same stuff that the Autojet injector pens for NBC poisoning? If so I would think this to be pretty dangerous even if the Mail said so.

[bushwacker bob]

I have survived the ricin in the castor oil plant in the garden, The datura I kept as a houseplant for 5 years(I caused its death) and I regularly work with yew. Guess I'm going to die at somepoint so you could be correct.

[forestwalker]

: Still can't see it being the scariest plant though. Lots of native hallucinogenics, toxins, available to be 'mis' used should someone so decide. As for the breath thing....sleeping under a Yew tree is not recommended either.

Put a box of the wrong kind of morchella under someones bed? As to the homebrew wine: give them some Coprinus atramentarius to eat with it... Key lesson; there is many, many scary plants out there, which can cause death, permanent kidney damage or are hallucinogenics. Me, I kind of like the way my CNS works, so I stay off all of the latter, and like be able to go for a walk every now and then ,rather than being locked up, and therefore avoid even seriously considering all the other "fun" uses for various plants.

Singing -- off key -- about my little list, with a Bear most adventurous etc, that surely wouldn't be missed is about as far I will go.

[Toddy]

if you only knew...
MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Define "evil deeds" as a general guideline we don't set out to deliberately harm another person.

I think bushwacker bob's point is well made; there are a lot of potentially harmful plants out there, but it's obviously not beyond mortal wit to deal with them

cheers,
Toddy

[Toddy]

That's a really good point Forestwalker Poisons, even ones that don't kill us, can leave kidneys and liver severely compromised.

A topical thread maybe ? Poisons, their actions and how to deal with them.

cheers,
M

[carabao]

I see one of your sources is the Daily Mail.

enough said.

In todays Mail on Sunday (I know not all that is in black and white can believed) there is an article by Richard Hoskins who is just about to release a book titled The Boy in the River. It tells of tragic story of the little African boy the police called Adam, found decapitated, and limbless in the River Thames in 2001. Richard's involvement in the case was of his expert knowledge of African religions and rituals. In the boys intestinal tract there was traces of Physostigma, the Calabar bean. It is deadly but in small doses it paralyse the victim, they would be fully aware of what is going on but would not be able to react or even scream. They believe that poor Adam was smuggled into the country solely for the purpose of this ritual slaughter. He was fed this bean and then killed.
If this bean is being brought into the U.K. then I'm pretty sure Devils breath is here as well

[Cpt-Jack]

what british seeds have the same effect? just a simple sniff of the processed drug is enough for complete control of yourself for 12 hours.

Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake and Henbane are all in the same family as Datura, they all contain high levels of scopolamine and will produce more or less exactly the same deliriant effects if ingested.

There are also a couple of types of mushroom too that cause similar dissociative mindstates, Amanita muscaria is probably the most well known.

[Laurentius]

I think that is all a bit OTT. As far as I am concerned giant hogweed is far scarier, you don't want to go anywhere near that.

[Nagual]

Triffids scare me. Oh yes.

[forestwalker]

I think that is all a bit OTT. As far as I am concerned giant hogweed is far scarier, you don't want to go anywhere near that.

Yes, those a bit of a concern. But fungi worries me as well: I am far less an expert on them than on plants, and the wrong one could set one up for dialysis or a transplant, with all the restrictions that that entails.

[Toddy]

It came to mind that Xylaria wrote two brilliant posts on this topic; one on poisonous fruits and one as a beginner's guide to mushrooms.
I finally figured out how to make the search engine sit up and do what I wanted, so here are the links

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24991

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23441

cheers,
Toddy

[treelore]

it's also called Devil's apple, you can find loads of it on the A14 towards Felixstow

[EdS]

thorn apple -- I've grown it my garden before. It grows OK but isn't frost tolerent.

Not as toxic as some ofthe other plants we've grown over the years.