What plant, also called “devil's trumpet,” contains tropane alkaloids causing delirium? Jimsonweed, or Datura stramonium, is the answer. It is also known as thornapple and belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its tropane alkaloids—including atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine—disrupt normal acetylcholine signaling, producing a dangerous anticholinergic poisoning syndrome.
Intoxication can cause severe confusion, delirium, hallucinations, memory loss, dilated pupils, dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, fever, urinary retention, and abnormal behavior. The effects are not reliably predictable because toxin concentrations vary widely among plants and can depend on the plant’s age, growing conditions, and weather.
Jimsonweed has a complicated history. It has been used in traditional medicine and ritual contexts, but its reputation as a hallucinogen is misleading: the experience is typically prolonged, frightening, and medically hazardous rather than a controlled psychedelic effect. The name “jimsonweed” is linked to Jamestown, Virginia, where colonial soldiers were reportedly poisoned after eating the plant’s leaves. Angel’s trumpet is a frequent mix-up; it usually refers to Brugmansia, a related but separate genus.