Datura
(derivation obscure; said to come from the Arabic name, datora). ORD. Solanaceae. Including Brugmansia, Ceratocaulis, Dutra, and Stramonium. Ornamental and pretty annuals, shrubs or trees. Flowers extra-axillary, pedunculate, or from the forks of the branches; corolla funnel-shaped. The annual species are generally known as Daturas, and the shrubby ones as Brugmansias. From an horticultural point of view, the latter section is by far the most important.
PROPAGATION. This may be easily effected by cuttings of about 6in. in length, placed in sandy soil, and plunged in a bottom heat of 60deg. Young shoots, heeled off the old wood, when they have grown about 6in. long, in spring, root freely. The annual species may be readily raised from seed. CULTIVATION. Shrubby Species. These thrive well against pillars, or planted in beds or borders in conservatories, and allowed to grow into large bushes or dwarf trees. The plants bear severe pruning remarkably well, and may be cut to keep them in any form or size desired. The best time to prune is at the close of the flowering season, or later in the autumn. This section of the genus is naturally an evergreen one, but does well treated as deciduous. Daturas enjoy a moderate amount of warmth when in full growth, but require to be kept dry and quite cool in winter. The best way of growing them in moderate-sized houses is in 12in. pots, as standards. These may have stems ranging in height from 4ft. to 7ft. The head should be formed of three or more branches, which will quickly be produced on stopping the main stem. After it is once obtained, the annual growths may be cut back to where the leading branches originate. Old plants flower far more freely than younger ones. Standard plants of D. sanguinea and D. suaveolens are well suited as permanent features for centres of beds or groups. D. Knighti does well in sheltered positions outside, in summer, and forms a rich and pleasing addition to the usual sub-tropical large-leaved plants. During the flowering period, manure water is most useful in increasing the vigour of the plants and the number and size of the flowers. Daturas are rather subject to White Scale on the leaves and stems. Annual Species. These are of very easy cultivation. Seeds may be readily raised in a hotbed; and the seedlings, when large enough to handle, should be placed singly in small pots, and finally transferred to their flowering quarters in the open border. They delight in a light sandy soil, and require plenty of space for full development.
D. arborea (tree-like).* fl., corolla white, 7in. to 8in. long. August. l. elliptic-oblong, quite entire, and are, as well as the petioles and branches, clothed with powdery pubescence. h. 7ft. to 10ft. Peru, &c., 1813. Greenhouse shrub. SYN. Brugmansia candida.
D. ceratocaula (horn-stalked). fl., corolla with a green tube, white limb, tinged with purple, sweet-scented. July. l. ovate-lanceolate, toothed, hoary beneath. Stem terete, purplish, dichotomous, horn-formed, pilose at the base. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Cuba, 1805. Annual. SYN. Ceratocaulos daturoides. (B. M. 3352.) D. chlorantha flore-pleno (double yellow-flowered).* fl. yellow, double, sweet-scented, solitary, axillary, pendent, shortly pedunculate; corolla funnel-shaped, dilated at the mouth. August to October. l. agreeing in shape with D. cornigera, but quite glabrous. Branches terete. Native country unknown. 1845. A handsome, free-flowering species. (B. M. 5218.) D. cornigera (horn-bearing). fl., corolla white, or cream-coloured, large, funnel-shaped, striated, the mouth spreading, five-lobed, the lobes terminated by a long subulate, spreading or recurved point; peduncles axillary, single-flowered, curved downward, so that the flower is drooping. Summer. l. chiefly confined to the extremities of the branches, ovate, petiolate, acuminate, entire, or sinuate or angled. Stem shrubby, about 3ft. high; the young branches and almost every part of the plant clothed with soft down. h. 10ft. Organ Mountains, 1844. A very singular plant. (B. M. 4252.) D. fastuosa (prickly).* fl., corolla violaceous outside, and white inside, oblique. July. l. ovate, acuminated, repandly-toothed, unequal at the base, and are, as well as the stem, downy. h. 2ft. to 3ft. East Indies, &c., 1629. Annual.
D. laevis (smooth). A synonym of D. muricata.
D. Metel (Metel).* fl. fragrant; corolla white, large. June. l. cordate, quite entire, or a little toothed, and are, as well as the stem, downy. h. 2ft. Tropics, 1596. Annual. (B. M. 1440.) D. meteloides (Metel-like).* is a greenhouse evergreen, very similar to the foregoing, with large longer-tubed flowers, of a bluish-violet, or else white. California, 1856. SYN. D. Wrightii. (F. d. S. 1266.) D. muricata (muricated). fl., corolla white, long. July. fr. muricated with strong short prickles, slightly erect. l. ovate, repand, when young toothed, glabrous, unequal at the base. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Tropical Asia, 1820. Annual. SYN. D. laevis.
D. quercifolia (Oak-leaved). fl., corolla violaceous. July. l. sinuately pinnatifid, hairy on the veins beneath. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Mexico, 1824. Annual. D. sanguinea (bloody).* fl. solitary, pendulous, issuing from the forks of the branches; corolla funnel-shaped, 7in. long, pubescent; tube orange-yellow, green towards the base, thick and fleshy; calyx large, ventricose, five-angled, five-ribbed, with prominent veins, copiously pubescent. Summer. l. alternate, often geminate, ovate-oblong, obtuse, waved and sinuated, with short blunt lobes, copiously clothed on both sides with soft white hairs; petioles stout, nearly cylindrical, copiously hairy, slightly flattened above. Stem arboreous, from 3ft. to 12ft. high, round, divided at the top h. 4ft. to 8ft. in cultivation. Peru. An elegant plant. (S. B. F. G. ii. 272, under name of Brugmansia sanguinea.) D. Stramonium (Stramonium). Thorn Apple. fl. white. July. l. ovate, angularly-toothed, cuneiform at the base, smoothish, green. h. 2ft. England. Annual. (Sy. En. B. 935.) D. suaveolens (sweet-scented).* fl. white, sweet-scented, large. August. l. elliptic-oblong, quite entire, glabrous above, and scarcely downy beneath. h. 10ft. to 15ft. Mexico, 1733. A very handsome greenhouse tree or shrub, much more extensively grown than any other member of the genus. SYN. Brugmansia suaveolens.
D. Tatula (Tatula). fl. violaceous. July. l. cordate-ovate, angularly toothed, unequal at the base, glabrous. h. 2ft. to 3ft. America, 1629. Annual. (S. B. F. G. 83.) D. Wrightii (Wright's). A synonym of D. meteloides.
There are several good garden forms in cultivation; the best perhaps being D. Knightii, a very handsome conservatory plant, with large double white pendulous flowers.