Class V. Order I. 51 



Not more than half the size of the last. Stems numerous, 

 twining. Leaves arrow or halbert shaped, with acute lobes. 

 Peduncles angular, with a pair of very small acute bractes about 

 their middle. Flowers nearly white. Dorchester. June. 



59. DATURA. 

 DATURA STRAMONIUM. L. Thorn Apple or Jlpplc Peru. 



Fruit spiiious, ovate, erect ; leaves ovate, 

 smooth. L. 



Stem erect, green, often solid, repeatedly forked, with 

 spreading branches. Leaves from the forks of the stem, ovate, 

 or heart shaped if they are spread out, smooth, smuated or loose- 

 ly toothed with large unequal teeth, unequal at base. Flowers 

 axillary, on short stalks, upright, white. Fruit of the size of a 

 small hen's egg, covered with thorns. Among rubbish. Au- 

 gust, September. Annual. 



A variety much more common than the last, and consider- 

 ably larger in size, has a uniformly hollow stem, purple, cover- 

 ed with light dots ; the flowers light purple or blue, striped on 

 the inside. It answers in every respect to the description of 

 Datura tatula, as laid clown m botanical books. I incline to think 

 the two species should be incorporated into one, if there are no 

 better discriminating marks than those usually laid down. The 

 dots in the purple cuticle of the American plant do not appear 

 to result from warts, or any inequalities in ils structure, but 

 simply from variation of colour. The sensible qualities of 

 the two varieties are the same. 



It must be remarked however, that both the plants here de- 

 scribed differ from the representations in the English Bctany, 

 and in Woodville's Medical Botany ; 1st in the form of the an- 

 thers, which are very oblong, four times longer than broad ; 2d 

 in the stigma, the sides of which are parallel ; 3d in the dissepi- 

 ment of the capsule which is thin, about one quarter tlxe thick- 

 ness of the valves. 



