Description

Jimsonweed is a type of Datura. The name Jimsonweed is a corruption of Jamestown weed, after the town in Virginia to which it is first believed to have been imported to the USA from England.

Characteristics:

Jimsonweed is an annual, growing up to a height of 5 feet with large purplish or white trumpet-shaped flowers and spiny, egg-shaped fruits. The stem is purplish and glabrous (smooth) and the leaves are ovate, irregularly lobed, to 8 in long, and have a foul odor. The flowers, however, are fragrant and sweet-smelling. They open for only one evening, but new ones continue to open throughout the summer and autumn. The flowers are white or pale lavender, shaped like a five-sided funnel, 2-4 in long. Jimsonweed is thought to be native of Mexico and South America, now widely naturalized. It is found wild in the Himalayas.

Medicinal Uses:

The whole plant is toxic and is used medicinally as anaesthetic and for sedating and relieving muscular spasm. Seed oil can be used for soap making. Jimson weed is a plant. The leaves and seeds are used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, jimson weed is used to treat Asthma , cough, flu, swine flu and nerve diseases.