This is a warning to poison and flower lovers. The Morning Glory and Datura plant's flowers look very similar. Unless you know them will you will not be able to tell the difference. You may be wondering why this is a big deal. The answer is simple. The Morning Glory is considered a toxic plant. While the Datura is considered a Poison plant. The difference is that the Morning Glory simply contain some mind/body altering substances. The dosage however is very specific and difficult to create. Datura is HIGHLY toxic. Just handling it can cause a reaction to sensitive people. If you eat it you will most likely kill yourself. Experienced user do use it in ointments but they approach it with caution.
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| Datura |
Datura as pictured here is a low growing plant, it is more bush or shrub like. With white or purple flowers. They are trumpets much like a petunia but larger and twist open and hang or point up. The leaves are soft and have arrow shaped leaves. They are part of the Solanaceae family, meaning they are cousins to Belladonna and Henbane. They have pods that grow that are ball like or sharp spikes filled with seeds like below. They are NOT part of the morning glory family. They are NOT Moonflowers though many people do call them this. They are indeed a moon plant they are not considered Moon flowers. Not in the morning glory family at least!
Moonflowers aka Morning Glory also have a history of being used to alter the mind. However it is the seed that is used and depending on the variety can be mild to deadly. However they are not the same as datura and are not considered poison. The plant itself unlike datura is relatively safe. Datura the whole plant is toxic and caution should be taken. Below is Moonflower aka Morning Glory they are part of the
Ipomoea family. You can see the pink morning glory next to the big white ones. The size is much different! This is why they got the name moon flower they look like moons. They are large and flat flowers that open in the night and close in the morning. They are a vine with heart shaped leaves. Their seeds are in small pods that are kind of heart shaped. They produce 1-3 seeds the size of a pea. PLEASE use caution when working with these plants, and do NOT confuse them. This could be a deadly mistake especially if children are involved.
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| Moonflower |
