Angel’s trumpet, also known as jimsonweed, is a poisonous flower with hallucinogenic and medicinal properties. It is a member of the nightshade family and is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat asthma, malaria, and earaches. It is also used in prescription asthma medications but is generally considered too toxic for conventional medicines.
The angel’s trumpet is a type of flower that resembles a long lily, with large white flowers. Also called jimsonweed, thorn apple, or devil’s trumpet, the botanical name for this flower is Datura stramonium and it is a member of the nightshade family of plants, along with tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. The flowers and leaves of this plant are poisonous if eaten in large quantities. In smaller amounts that are properly prepared, it has hallucinogenic and medicinal properties.
Angel’s trumpet is an evergreen shrub that came to North America from South America, but probably originated in Asia, where it has been used in India for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a tropical plant, suitable only for warm regions that do not experience freezing temperatures. The flowers bloom at night and give off a strong, sweet scent. Although a shrub, this plant is often pruned to look more like a small tree, with bushier growth to encourage more blooms.
In the nightshade family, along with angel’s trumpet, are shadow and mandrake, two poisonous medicines that can be used as hallucinogens. Some scholars believe that the steam from the boiling angel’s trumpet was inhaled by the Oracles at Delphi to induce their visions. Like banana peels and morning glory seeds, this flower has a place in modern teen lore as a cheap way to get high. If the flower or seeds are eaten, smoked, or drunk as a tea in small amounts, a person may experience lethargy and hallucinations, but proper dosages are not known. Overdose can cause shortness of breath and delirium, usually requiring emergency medical intervention.
Today, some prescription asthma medications are made with extracts of angel’s trumpet, but other than that, the plant is generally considered too toxic for conventional medicines. Until 1968 in the US, there were several over-the-counter pain relievers available that contained extracts of angel trumpet, but these drugs were banned by the government because they were used recreationally as hallucinogens.
In Ayurvedic medicine, this plant is used to treat asthma, malaria, and earaches. To treat asthma, the leaves are burned and the smoke is inhaled. The fruit is burned with cow dung and crushed to treat malarial fever, and an oil prepared from the flower mixed with other herbs can be used directly in the ear to relieve pain. Angel’s trumpet can also be used in ointments to treat burns and rheumatism pain.
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