Thorn-apple - Datura stramonium

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Alternative names
Thorn Apple
Description

Medium to tall, erect, foetid plant, often reaching 1.5 metres or more in height. Leaves oval to elliptical, usually lobed and with jagged teeth. Flowers white (occasionally purplish) erect, funnel shaped, 50 to 100 mm long, solitary at the axils of the upper leaves. Sometimes in the forks of branches. Calyx large half the length of the corolla, sharply angled. Fruit an erect spiny egg shaped capsule.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Bare places, waste ground.

When to see it

July to October.

Life History

Annual.

UK Status

Irregular and spasmodic in appearances, mainly in southern Britain.

VC55 Status

Uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 14 of the 617 tetrads.

  • Graham Calow
    All Saints Chuch, Sapcote
    23 July 2006
  • Graham Calow
    Near Measham
    15 October 2010
  • Graham Calow
    All Saints Chuch, Sapcote
    23 July 2006
  • Craig Mabbett
    Main Road Frolesworth
    25 August 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Near Measham
    15 October 2010
  • Craig Mabbett
    Main Road Frolesworth
    25 August 2015
  • Peter Smith
    Hugglescote
    04 August 2019
  • Craig Mabbett
    Main Road Frolesworth
    25 August 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Springwell Lane, Whetstone
    29 July 2016

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names
Thorn-apple
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Solanales
Family:
Solanaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
16
First record:
23/07/2006 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
06/10/2023 (Horrell, Catherine)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records

  • Craig Mabbett
    Main Road Frolesworth
    25 August 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Springwell Lane, Whetstone
    29 July 2016
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote, Field off Pougher Close
    03 October 2019
  • Graham Calow
    Footpath near Geveze Way, Broughton Astley
    14 September 2018
  • Peter Smith
    Hugglescote
    04 August 2019
  • Graham Calow
    Footpath near Geveze Way, Broughton Astley
    14 September 2018
  • Peter Smith
    Hugglescote
    04 August 2019
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote, Field off Pougher Close
    03 October 2019
  • martindgrimes
    Ketton
    21 August 2017
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote, Field off Pougher Close
    03 October 2019
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote, Field off Pougher Close
    03 October 2019
  • martindgrimes
    Ketton
    21 August 2017
  • martindgrimes
    Ketton
    21 August 2017
  • Graham Calow
    Footpath near Geveze Way, Broughton Astley
    14 September 2018
  • Graham Calow
    Footpath near Geveze Way, Broughton Astley
    14 September 2018
  • Sally Cunningham
    croft allotments
    14 July 2019
  • charnwoodspots
    Ashmount CLose Loughborough
    21 November 2019