Wednesday, January 19, 2011

jimson weed ~ 01/19/11 ~ Fort Ord

Datura stramonium
Solanaceae

I rarely remember the individual plants that I happen to post pictures through the seasons, but this jimson weed stands out in my mind. Those are some gnarly seed pods! Click to see pictures of it in its full summer glory from August 21, 2010. The switch of green vs. dried parts between jimson weed and grass, from August to now in January, is quite fascinating to observe.

ps 01/22/11 - Thanks to Phyte Club Katie's comment, I've discovered this plant is apparently fairly toxic, i.e., do NOT use for a recreational high.

pss 10/27/11 - Found another blog post of the actual seeds. I like. Check out Backyard and Beyond's Jimson.

6 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

Very pretty plant! Had no idea that they were 'bur' producers.

When I saw the first photo pop up in my reader, I thought we were going to get another big fat gray squirrel photo! :)

"twg"!!!

phyte club katie said...

Love this shape. Until I saw a huge field of these (also in this stage, not in bloom, unfortunately) down south from you in Gorda, I had no idea they were on the Central Coast. I think my teenage self always associated this plant with Carlos Castenada and Jim Morrison, so I just figured it only grew in some far off shamanic land.

Allison said...

Beautiful pictures. I'm originally from California... your pictures take me back in time.

Thank you for introducing me to Joni Mitchell. I've always known her name but never taken the time to listen to her. Bless you.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Haha, very funny, twg :p No more squirrel posts for a while. Honest.

Katie, there is something to the name jimson weed, huh? I'll have to look into it.

Allison, welcome to my blog! You're only the second person who's commented on the Joni Mitchell vid on my profile page. It's appropo, b/c I grew up here in CA, went to college and lived in OH for 9 years, and was extremely happy to return to CA. I follow another blog from Switzerland, check him out: http://dreamfalcon.wordpress.com/. He's also the initiator of the Tree Year Project, which I'm also doing.

Matthew said...

Those seed pods are fascinating, aren't they? I found some on the shamanic streets of Brooklyn and planted them before I knew what it was. The name "jimson" is supposedly from Jamestown in the Virginia colony.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Thanks, Matthew. I'm becoming fascinated by the alternative uses of plants, native to our area or not.