Description

• Datura discolor, commonly known as desert thorn-apple or desert datura, is an annual herb in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). It has broad, often irregularly lobed leaves and large, trumpet-shaped flowers that are typically white, sometimes with a pale lavender tinge. The flowers open in the evening or at night and may be visited by nocturnal pollinators. Its fruit is a rounded to egg-shaped capsule covered in short, blunt projections. Like other Datura species, all parts of the plant are poisonous, containing potent tropane alkaloids.

Range

• Datura discolor is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, including the Sonoran Desert region. It is native to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.

Habitat

• Desert thorn-apple grows in warm, sunny, arid and semi-arid environments, including sandy or gravelly washes, desert plains, roadsides, and disturbed ground. It favours well-drained soils and is often most noticeable after seasonal rainfall, when it grows quickly, flowers, and sets fruit.