30 



AMKHR'A.X MiiDlCl^AL LEAVES AND HEKBS. 



JIMSUX WEED. 



Datura slrainoniuin L. 



Pharmacopmal iiame.' — Stramonium. 



Other common names. — Jamestown weed (from which the name "jimson weed'' is de- 

 rived). Jamestown lily, thorn apple, devil'sapple, mad-apple, appleof Peru, stinkweed, 



stinkwort, devii"s-lrum- 

 pet, fireweed, dewtry. 



Habitat and range.— This 

 is a very common weetl 

 in fields and waste places 

 almost everywhere in the 

 United States except in 

 the North and West. It 

 is widely scattered in 

 nearlj- all warm countries. 

 Description. — J i m s o n 

 weed is an ill-scented, 

 poisonous annual belong- 

 ing to the nightshade fam- 

 ily (Solanaceae). Its stout, 

 yellowish-green stems are 

 about 2 to 5 feet high, 

 much forked, and leafy 

 with large, thin, wavy- 

 loothed leaves. The 

 leaves are from 3 to 8 

 inches long, thin, smooth, 

 j)ointed at the top and 

 usually narrowed at the 

 base, somewhat lobed or 

 irregularly toothetl and 

 waved, veiny, the upper 

 surface dark green, while 

 ihe lower surface is a light- 

 er green. The flowers are 

 large (about 3 inches in 

 length), white, funnel 

 f-haped, rather showy, and with a pronounced odor. Jimson weed is in flower from 

 al)out May to Septendx'r, and the seed j)ods which follow are dry, oval, ])rickly caj)- 

 sules, about as large as a horse-chestnut, which upon rfi)ening burst open into four 

 valves containing numerous black, wrinkled, kidney-shaped seeds, which are 

 poisonous (Fig. 22.) 



Collection, prices, and itscs. — The leaves of the jimson weed, yielding, when assayed 

 by the United States Pharmacoptria process, not less than 0.3.') per cent of its alkaloids, 

 are ofhcial under the name "Stramonium." They are collected at the time jimson 

 weed is in flower, the entire plant being cut or j)ulled up and the leaves stripped and 

 carefully dried in the shade. They have an un))leasant, narcotic odor and a bitter, 

 nauseous taste. T)rying diminishes (he disagreeal)le odor. The collector may receive 

 from 2 to 5 cents a pound for the leaves. 



The leaves, which are poisonous, cause dilation of the pupil of the eye and also have 

 narcotic, antispasmodic, anodyne, and diuretic projierlies. In asthma they are fre- 

 quently employed in the form of cigarettes, which are smoked, or the fumes are 

 inhaled. 



The seeds are al.so used in niedicnie. 



Fig. 



-Jimson wncit (Datura .•<'r<im(iniiim). Icincs, llowcr.s, unci 

 capsules. 



;i'.> 



