Question: A flowering plant grew next to our bird feeder last summer, and no one was able to identify it for us. We are hoping you can.
The plant grew to about 2 feet in height. The stem was mahogany in color, and the plant produced lilac-colored, trumpet-shaped flowers about 3 inches long. The flowers closed in the afternoon, though not completely.
When the flower was done, a seedpod developed. It had sharp, stout needles covering the pods. Some of the pods cracked open, revealing a number of black seeds. Do you know what this was?
Answer: From your description, it is likely that the bird seed you used also harbored the seed of a Jimson weed. Also called Angel's trumpet, moon flower or datura, this annual plant (Datura species) easily grows from seed and produces a mature plant that reaches between 2 and 3 feet in height. It can be multi-branched and bear dozens of trumpet-shaped flowers over the course of the summer.
Though they are common garden plants, they are very poisonous and care should be taken when growing them around pets and small children. They are members of the tomato family — Solanaceae — the same family to which deadly nightshade and mandrake belong. Datura is a toxic hallucinogen that, when consumed, can cause delirium and death, even in small quantities. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling the plant.
Cultivated varieties can have yellow, pink or purple blooms, though the wild form is almost always pale purple. The fruit is a spiny, round capsule, as you describe, and where the seeds are allowed to dehisce (burst open), you'll find a new crop of datura seedlings the following spring. The flowers open during the evening hours and stay open all night, when several large moth species act as their pollinator. They close during the heat of the day. Each blossom lasts three or four days before dropping off and setting seed.
The flowers are upright and quite fragrant (though not as fragrant as their close cousin Brugmansia, which bears pendulous, trumpet-shaped flowers) and can be very lovely in the evening garden. If you can stand still long enough, you can actually watch each blossom unfurl and open. It takes about a half-hour.
Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners” at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control” and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.” Her website is www.jessicawalliser.com.
Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 503 Martindale St., 3rd Floor, D.L. Clark Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
