Is anyone out there familiar enough with the datura species to help clear up some confusion? What are the differences? Datura stramonium is pretty easy to identify because of the leaf shape - but the 3 mentioned are all very similar. The information I find on the web and in my books seems to have the genus confused as well. Not to mention the catalogs with their mis-identified plants. I'm not talking about the fancy doubles and/or different colored hybrids. If you had a plain white flowered plant of each of the 3 species what would be some identifying characteristics?
Metal, meteloides, inoxia
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Glory
Sep 09, 2001
Ask Rich Sanders...He's the Datura man. OH Rich where are you??????
Here I am!
Poppysue,
Try the datura key at the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/lisarts/Summer_Scent_L/LisArt_Homex.html
www.geocities.com/lisarts/Summer_Scent_L/LisArt_Homex.html
It should lead you through a pretty good description of the species.
Good luck with the sanguinea - I think your summers might be just cool enough to allow it to thrive in the future (I used to live in Scarborough right by Oak Hill).
Rich
Wow Rich! That's a great page and the best information I've come across. Is it your page? Would it be Ok to use some of your pictures in the Daves Garden plant database? I went to add some datura information last night and got confused between the species. This will certainly helps clear it up. One more question... am I safe to assume my "Big" datura http://davesgarden.com/gj/poppysue/viewentry/8890.html is datura inoxia?
If my sanguinea does bloom... You'll hear me hootin & Hollerin in Connecticut! Thanks for your help.
Poppysue, with that faint colored edge on your flowers, you may have a cultivar called "Evening Fragrance" which is supposed to be even more fragrant than the species. Got any seeds to share? I can offer you a single lavender with a dark purple throat, but I DON'T know the species name---metel, I think, and I also have a D. stramonium which has a dark purple throat.
Judith - I'd be glad to share but I'm not sure the seeds will be ready before the frost comes. It's been pretty chilly here at night and the seed pods really aren't even developed yet. Rich helped ID this as Datura innoxia ssp. quinquecuspida.