Datura stramonium (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Datura stramonium L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 179 (1753).

Synonyms

• Datura tatula L. (1762).

Vernacular names

• Thorn apple, jimsonweed, devil's apple (En).
• Pomme épineuse, stramoine (Fr)
• Indonesia: kucubung leutik (Sundanese), jarak pendek, kacubung wulung (Javanese)
• Thailand: lanphong khao.

Distribution

Probably of American origin; now found all over the world, but particularly common in warm temperate regions. In South-East Asia, D. stramonium only occurs in some locations in Java, where it is naturalized, and also in mountainous regions in Thailand.

Uses

In Java, D. stramonium is an ingredient of certain traditional medicines to treat fatigue, pain and for curing sprains.

Observations

• An annual herb up to 120 cm tall, stem glabrous or nearly so.
• Leaves rhombic to angular-ovate or ovate-oblong, 6-20 cm × 3-15 cm, exsculpted-dentate-pinnatilobed, petiole up to 10 cm long.
• Flowers with corolla 5-9 cm long, simple, white or pale purplish.
• Fruit always erect, densely covered with strong and long prickles.

D. stramonium is locally naturalized in Java at higher altitudes (1000-2100 m) and grows in sunny and fertile locations such as on waste land and in tea plantations.

Selected sources

• Avery, A.G., Satina, S. & Rietsema, J. (Editors), 1959. Blakeslee: the genus Datura. The Ronald Press Company, New York, United States. 289 pp.
• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• Ballica, R., Ryu, D.D.Y. & Furusaki, S., 1994. Tropane alkaloid production from Datura stramonium: an integrated approach to bioprocess optimization of plant cell cultivation. In: Ryu, D.D.Y. (Editor): Advances in plant biotechnology. Studies in plant science 4. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. pp. 221-254.
• Bruneton, J., 1995. Pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, medicinal plants. Technique & Documentation Lavoisier, Paris, France. 915 pp.
• Demeyer, K., Vanhaste, F., van de Velde, H. & Dejaegere, R., 1990. Introductory study for the optimization of growth and alkaloid production by cell cultures of Datura stramonium L. Acta Horticulturae 306: 210-218.
• Dethier, M., Cordier, Y. & Demeyer, K., 1993. Cultivation of Datura species for scopolamine and hyoscyamine production in Burundi. In: Palevitch, D., Simon, J.E. & Mathé, A. (Editors): Raw material production, product introduction. Proceedings of the First World Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Human Welfare, WOCMAP. Maastricht, the Netherlands, 19-25 July 1992. Acta Horticulturae 331: 39-48.
• Hänsel, R. et al. (Editors), 1992. Hagers Handbuch der Pharmazeutishe Praxis [Hagers handbook of the practice of pharmacology]. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1209 pp.
• Hawkes, J.G., Lester, R.N. & Skelding, A.D. (Editors), 1979. The biology and taxonomy of the Solanaceae. Published for the Linnean Society of London by Academic Press, Dorset, United Kingdom. 738 pp.
• Hawkes, J.G., Lester, R.N., Nee, M. & Estrada, N. (Editors), 1991. The Solanaceae III: Taxonomy, chemistry, evolution. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & The Linnean Society of London, London, United Kingdom. 483 pp.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• Hilton, M.G. & Rhodes, M.J.C., 1993. Factors affecting the growth and hyoscyamine production during batch culture of transformed roots of Datura stramonium. Planta Medica 59(4): 340-344.
• International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT, 1982. Markets for selected medicinal plants and their derivatives. Geneva, Switzerland. 206 pp.
• Lewis, W.H. & Elwin Lewis, M.P.F., 1977. Medical Botany. Plants affecting man's health. John Wiley & Sons, New York, United States. 515 pp.
• Samuelsson, G. (Editor), 1992. Drugs of natural origin, a textbook of pharmacognosy. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press, Stockholm, Sweden. 320 pp.

Main genus page

• Datura (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Sri Hartati, Imastini Dinuriah & M.M. Blomqvist