Definition

Noun: * A tall, fast-growing, and highly poisonous annual plant (Datura stramonium) native to tropical America but found worldwide. It is characterized by its foul-smelling foliage, large trumpet-shaped flowers (white or violet), and spiny seed pods.

Usage

• "Jimsonweed" is used as a common name for the specific plant species . It is typically used in botanical, agricultural, and medical contexts to identify this toxic weed.
• It is often discussed in warnings about poisonous plants due to its potent tropane alkaloids, which can cause severe hallucinations, delirium, and death if ingested.

Examples

• The farmer worked to eradicate the jimsonweed that had invaded his cornfield.
• Public health officials issued a warning after several teenagers were hospitalized from ingesting jimsonweed.
• The large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers of jimsonweed can be misleadingly beautiful for such a dangerous plant.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The name "jimsonweed" is a corruption of "Jamestown weed," referring to an incident in Jamestown, Virginia, in the 17th century where British soldiers accidentally consumed the plant and experienced severe poisoning.
• Ethnobotanical Use: Despite its extreme danger, jimsonweed has a history of use in some traditional rituals and medicines for its powerful psychoactive and anticholinergic properties, though such use is highly risky and not recommended.

Variants and Related Words

• Common Names: thorn apple, devil's snare, devil's trumpet, locoweed, stinkweed.
• Scientific Name: .
• Related Plant: Other species within the genus are also commonly referred to as "jimsonweed" or "thorn apple" and share similar toxic properties.

Synonyms

• Thorn apple
• Devil's trumpet
• (scientific name)

Idioms and Phrases

(This word is highly specific and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its usage is almost exclusively literal, referring to the plant itself.)

Noun

1. intensely poisonous tall coarse annual tropical weed having rank-smelling foliage, large white or violet trumpet-shaped flowers and prickly fruits