Datura stramonium

in #science5 years ago

I grew up encountering this plant so many times, as a matter of fact, the population of this plant almost rivalled that of humans in my secondary school at some point.

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Datura flora

Datura stramonium goes by many names: Jimson weed, thorn apple, stink weed, mad apple, Devil's snare, hell bell, etc. With at least 9 species, the plant though autochtonous to America, the plants have become allochthonous and is now found in Europe, India and Africa.

It has numerous benefits which include;

  • Used for hair growth.
  • Used to make medicine and drugs.
  • Used to treat pain, fistula and abscesses.
  • The seeds and leaves are anti-asthmatic and hypnotic.
  • Burning leaves are mosquito and larva repellent.
  • The infusion relieves athritis
  • Used to treat palpitations and hypertension
    And so on..

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The fruit

It also has some side effects, some of them are;

  • Datura chemicals such as scopolamine and atropine are used as poison and used in murders and suicides.
  • It increases heart rate.
  • Ingesting it may cause violent behavior.
  • The leaves are harmful to the eyes.
  • Can cause amnesia

For further reading 1 2

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