Jimsonweed (also called Stinkweed and Thorn Apple), a coarse, ill-smelling annual weed. It is native to the tropics, but is common in waste areas of many temperate regions. The name comes from Jamestown weed, and arose because the plant was introduced into America by colonists at Jamestown, Virginia.
Jimsonweed has a greenish, branching stem—either smooth or fuzzy—three to five feet (90 to 150 cm) high. Its leaves are broad and unevenly notched. The flowers are trumpet-shaped and usually white or purple; a fev varieties have red or yellow flowers. The plant has prickly, egg-shaped fruit. Jimsonweed is known to pharmacists as stramonium. Its flowering tops, leaves, and seeds yield alkaloids that are hallucinogenic and poisonous. In very small doses, these alkaloids are used to treat asthma and relieve pain.
The Jimsonweed is Datura stramonium of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.