General Information

COMMON NAMES: Downy Thornapple, Horn-of-plenty, Hairy Thornapple, Thorn-apple; German Stechapfel TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pūāve (MK MT), Rākau Pōnikarāpu / Rākau Pāoro-rōuru (AK) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE s.China COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only - rare; N.Group - absent; Land, lowlands, horticultural SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers, Material (Comb); Weed - moderate, Poisonous to eat KEY FEATURES: Shrub to 2m. LEAVES alternate, wide-ovate to 12x8cm, edge smooth, ± a few teeth, tip sharp; stalk to 5cm. FLOWERS solitary in stem forks; corolla funnel-like, to 20x10cm(LxØ), flared into 5 sharp lobes; single and white, OR double and purple or yellow. FRUIT capsule, inclined, round, 4cmØ, green with short sturdy spines; opens irregularly. SEEDS yellowish. cvs. the single white might be the original form, with the double purple and double yellow as cultivars. SIMILAR SPECIES: Jimson Weed (Datura metel, not presently recorded in the Cooks) has flower corolla short, less than 10cmL (vs. more than 15cmL); fruit erect (vs. inclined); fruit opens with 4 valves (vs. irregularly); and seeds dark brown to black (vs. yellowish).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+	-	-	+	+	+	-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Datura metel Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Datura alba Rumph. ex Nees [single white cv.]; Datura chlorantha Hook [double yellow cv.]; Datura fastuosa Linnaeus [double purple cv.]; Datura stramonium Linnaeus [mistaken, sensu TC]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Solanales; SOLANACEAE

GENERAL NOTE: All parts are toxic - for further information see under Brugmansia suaveolens. Datura metel is native of Asia, probably southern China. It is recorded in Arab records in the 11th Century and in Chinese records in 1590. In contrast the genus Datura is American in origin, and the very similar Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium) is native and widespread in the USA. [G.McCormack, 2005/12]

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, 2000/01, Upper Tupapa, G.McCormack with ID as Datura metel (NOT Datura stramonium).

References:
p.1255 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.750 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.5/032 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.290 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.96 * Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.394c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM05b, zD05b

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