Datura stramonium is toxic to horses. The reported severity is severe. Also known as Jimsonweed and Purple Thorn-Apple.
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Giftinformationscentralen stopped answering questions about animals on 1 July 2018. Call your veterinarian or an animal hospital.
Drooling Bloat Loss Of Appetite Increased Thirst Colic High Heart Rate Dilated Pupils
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Datura stramonium, known by the common names thornapple, jimsonweed, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant in the Daturae tribe of the nightshade family Solanaceae. Its likely origin was in Central America, and it has been introduced in many world regions. It is an aggressive invasive weed in temperate climates and tropical climates across the world. D. stramonium has frequently been employed in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments. It has also been used as a hallucinogen, taken entheogenically to cause intense, sacred or occult visions. It is unlikely to become a major drug of abuse owing to effects upon both mind and body frequently perceived as being highly unpleasant, giving rise to a state of profound and long-lasting disorientation or delirium with a potentially fatal outcome. It contains tropane alkaloids which are responsible for the psychoactive effects, and may be severely toxic.
All parts of Datura plants contain dangerous levels of the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine, all of which are classified as deliriants, or anticholinergics. The risk of fatal overdose is high among uninformed users, and many hospitalizations occur among recreational users who ingest the plant for its psychoactive effects. Deliberate or inadvertent poisoning resulting from smoking jimsonweed and other related species has been reported. Numerous other alkaloids have been detected at lower levels in the plant including methylecgonine in the roots, apoatropine in the stems, leaves, and other parts, and tropine in the flowers and other parts. The amount of toxins varies widely from plant to plant. As much as a 20:1 variation can be found between plants, and a given plant's toxicity depends on its age, where it is growing, and the local weather conditions. A particularly strong difference has been found between plants growing in their native ranges and plants that have adjusted to growing in non-native ranges: in the latter, the atropine and scopolamine concentration may be up to 20–40 times lower than in the native range. It is suspected that this is an evolutionary response to lower predatory pressures. Additionally, within a given plant, toxin concentration varies by part and even from leaf to leaf. When the plant is younger, the ratio of scopolamine to atropine is about 3:1; after flowering, this ratio is reversed, with the amount of scopolamine continuing to decrease as the plant gets older. In traditional cultures, a great deal of experience and detailed knowledge of Datura was critical to minimize harm.
Also recorded as Common Thorn-apple, False Castor-oil, Fireweed, Jamestown Weed, Mad Apple and Moonflower.
More from the Solanaceae family:
Countries with the most wild observations, from GBIF data.