Art by Audrey Carver • Arte por Audrey Carver

I'm also known as • También se me conoce como:

Datura

Toloache

Datura spp.

You can recognize me by my broad green leaves and large white trumpet-shaped flowers with purple inside. When there is little rain, I drop my larger leaves and grow smaller ones to save water. Caterpillars feed on my leaves and sometimes absorb my toxins for protection. From April to October, I bloom with sweet-smelling flowers that open at night or on cloudy days. Moths and bats visit my flowers for nectar and pollinate them in return. After pollination, I produce a spiny fruit called a thornapple filled with seeds. While many people consider me to be sacred and ceremonial, all parts of me are highly poisonous to humans. One of my superpowers is surviving winter underground with a deep taproot and returning each spring to bloom again. This taproot also helps me survive drought by collecting water, bloom through dry summers, and support wildlife in a changing climate.

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