This little hairy ball a bit like a horse chestnut is the seed pod, some of which were given to us last autumn. It has grown into this. (Not a good picture I'm sorry, due to the light inside the seed/seedling house and the fabric cladding the structure. 
This flower is erect, which apparently makes it a Datura, whereas the pendulous ones are Brugmansia. Both are originally from South America. The Datura is herbaceous and the Brugmansia perennial and woody. Datura has been used by the Shamans for its hallucinogenic properties and is referred to in his books by Carlos Castenada.
I was apparently incorrect in calling the vivid magenta, yellow and red ones I first saw in Greece Datura - they were all Brugmansia as the flowers hung down. Like these delicate apricot-coloured ones.
And how about this exotic-looking one.
We have about six of the upright white ones, "Angel's Trumpet" and now have the problem of where to put them, especially as the Paulownia have gone mad in their growth and will need planting.
3 comments:
I heard about the properties of Datura and made note of other hallucinogenic plants when I came across a book at my local booksale:
http://persephoneinbloom.blogspot.com/2009/07/hallu.html
Very interesting stuff indeed, including the ceremonies involved that the tribesmen would undertake.
Love your blog, gardening and being able to live vicariously through someone's adventures in Spain! *so jealous!*
That's interesting because I'm growing some Datura from seed given to me by a friend last summer. At the moment they're about 4 inches tall and I have to think of where to transplant them!
Hi Persephone, what a strange coincidence that you found a marvellous informative book and then you see my post on Datura. Aren't they extraordinary plants.
Jan. I sympathise with you about where to put them. Gonzalo, our neighbour, is going to be very put out if we start putting lots of ornamentals in our garden instead of edibles. But we do plan to do so in the Autumn when it will be necessary to dig the big holes necessary.
Good luck with yours. You should get flowers next year and a big growth spurt.
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