Moonflowers

Following up on last night's post, I thought I'd post a couple of interesting shots of the "good" Datura, to illustrate the significant differences between the two ... this is the one we have been planting for years and it has clearly become our favorite, even if it does have weedy tendencies.

Datura inoxia or meteloides is another of the 'Angel's Trumpet' (or 'Devil's Trumpet' if you prefer), but most commonly known as 'Moonflower.' These two shots show some of the many permutations the nearly open buds can take ... they usually look like the star shaped one in the first picture, but sometimes assume other forms, such as in the second shot (which is another one that is growing in the cracks of the sidewalk).

The same sorts of caveats and dire weediness warnings I gave last night apply to this species as well, though it's by far the more attractive of the two and is a lot more tolerable in the garden if it gets a bit out of hand.

And, like D. stramonium, the same warnings about toxicity apply ... and if you're curious about what can happen if they're ingested, check out this link Olivia sent me last year. Datura Poisoning By Hamburger.. that should scare you off sufficiently!