ISO JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOL. 11, NO. S 



Type Locality: "The fifth sort grows naturally at Vera Cruz, from whence 



I received the seeds." 

 Range: Mexico to South America and the West Indies. Introduced at an 



early date into the Canary Islands, North Africa, and India. 



This "downy thorn-apple," as it was called by Sims, has been frequently 

 confused with the Old World Datura metel of Linnaeus, from which it may 

 be readily distinguished by its 10-angled corolla and the soft pubescence of 

 its foliage and young branches. It was characterized by Miller in 1768 as 

 follows: "Datura {Inoxia) pericarpiis spinosis inoxiis ovatis propendentibus 

 foliis cordatis pubescentibus." A plant grown from seeds from Vera Cruz 

 was described by him as follows: "This rises with a purplish stem three to 

 four feet high, dividing into seveial strong branches, garnished with oblong 

 heart-shaped leaves. The stalks, branches, and leaves of this sort are covered 

 with soft hairs ; the flowers come out at the division of the stalks and branches, 

 standing erect; they are large, white, and are succeeded by oval fruit covered 

 with long soft innocent spines, opening into four cells, which are full of brown 

 seeds." 



The above description accords with that of the Mexican Nacazctd, or 

 Toloatz'in, the leaves of which were characterized by Hernandez^ as "moUia, 

 pinguia, et hirsuta." It was figured by Sims in 1812, as above cited, from a 

 plant grown in London from seeds of American origin. Sims referred it to 

 Linnaeus's Datura metel, but he was not at all confident that he was correct 

 in doing so. "Our plant was said to be raised from seeds sent from Surinam," 

 he says, "and we think it doubtful whether it be the same species as the East 

 Indian plant, which grows to a much larger size and is not described as being 

 so pubescent. . . . We were favored with the plant from which our 

 drawing was taken, by Mr. Salisbur}^ proprietor of the botanic garden in 

 Sloane Street, under the name of Datura innoxia of Miller; and it is not un- 

 likely but it may be the same as the one described by him, which he raised 

 from seeds received from Vera Cruz." 



Notwithstanding the uncertainty thus expressed by the author, the name 

 Datura metel was subsequently transferred by several botanists from the 

 Asiatic metel-nut, upon which Linnaeus had bestowed it, to this American 

 "downy thorn-apple," a species which may be readily distinguished from the 

 true Datura metel L. not only by its soft pubescent but by its 10-toothed 

 corollas. It seems strange that even in Hooker's Flora of British India the 

 name Datura metel is applied to this introduced plant of American origin, 

 while the true Datura metel is called by a varietal name D. fastuosa, with D. 

 alba Nees given as the name of its typical form, in which the corolla is white 

 and single. 



7. Datura meteloides Dunal. in DC. Prodr. 13^: 544. 1852. Fig. 1, D. 



Datura wrightii Hort. ex Regel, Gartenfl. pi. 260. 1859. 

 Type Locality: "In calidis Novae Hispaniae regionibus." 

 R.ange : Western Texas to California, Mexico, and northern South America. 



* Hernandez, Res. Med. Nov. Hisp. Thesaurus, 113. 1651. 



