Hummingbirds and keen gardeners love the large, elegant, and fragrant flowers, but all parts of the plant are poisonous, and the effects of ingestion by humans can include paralysis, confusion, dry mouth, diarrhea, migraine headaches, visual and auditory hallucinations, and even death. Many South American indigenous cultures use it as a ritualistic hallucinogen for divination, to communicate with ancestors, as a poison in sorcery and black magic, and for prophecy. Several South American cultures have used it as a treatment for unruly children, that they might be admonished directly by their ancestors in the spirit world and thereby become more compliant. Mixed with maize, beer, and tobacco leaves, it has been used to drug wives and slaves before they were buried alive with their dead lord (source). And it grows just outside the doors to Ellison Hall, home of the UCSB Department of Geography.
Actually, Brugmansia, commonly known as “angel’s trumpet” or “datura,” is grown worldwide as a popular flowering ornamental plant, and there are a great number of magnificent specimens in Santa Barbara. There are 7 recognized species, all but 1 of which are fragrant; several hybrids and numerous cultivars have been developed for use as ornamental plants; they range in color from white, peach, and pink to yellow, orange, and red; and many of them can be found on the UCSB campus. The yellow specimens around Ellison Hall are Brugmansia auria, probably the most common variety in our area, and, despite the rumors, they are not used for divination or black magic by our Executive Officer or our IT Manager (so they say), even though the plants seem to flourish just outside their respective offices.
Brugmansia is uncontrolled in the United States. This means that it is legal to cultivate, buy, possess, and distribute all parts of the plant and its extracts without a license or prescription. However, it is not approved for human consumption by the FDA, and, as a result, some municipalities have now prohibited its purchase, sale, or cultivation. In 1994, 112 teenagers were admitted to hospitals from ingesting Brugmansia in Florida alone. The concentrations of alkaloids in all parts of the plant differ markedly. They even vary with the seasons and the level of hydration, so it is nearly impossible to determine a safe level of alkaloid exposure (Ibid.).
Article by Bill Norrington
