Mexico
South-Central U.S.A.: United States - Texas
Caribbean: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda - Antigua; Bahamas; Barbados; Cuba; Guadeloupe; Hispaniola; Jamaica; Martinique; Puerto Rico; St. Vincent and Grenadines
Mesoamerica: Guatemala; Honduras
Northern South America: Venezuela
Southern South America: Paraguay
Western South America: Bolivia; Colombia; Ecuador; Peru
Calflora also indicates that this plant is native to California, while the USDA PLANTS website indicates it is NOT native to the U.S. and was introduced. It is not found in the Jepson manual (although a native congener, D. wrightii, is). It is listed as native to Texas by the LadyBird Johnson website.
The scientific name is often cited as D. innoxia. When English botanist Philip Miller first described the species in 1768, he misspelled the Latin word innoxia (inoffensive) when naming it D. inoxia. The name Datura meteloides was for some time erroneously applied to some members of the species, but that name has now been abandoned. Perennial rootstock with annual top to 1 meter in height. Stems and leaves, especially new growth, densely villous. Flowers large, funnelform, white, tinged purple. Seed capsules ovate, studded with spines.
Erect or sprawling annual or short-lived perennial herb or small shrub, up to c. 2 m. Some accounts indicate perennial, while others indicate annual: Datura inoxia is an annual shrubby plant that typically reaches a height of 0.6 to 1.5 metres. Its stems and leaves are covered with short and soft grayish hairs, giving the whole plant a grayish appearance. It has elliptic entire-edged leaves with pinnate venation. All parts of the plant emit a foul odor similar to rancid peanut butter when crushed or bruised, although most people find the fragrance of the flowers to be quite pleasant when they bloom at night. The flowers are white, trumpet-shaped, 12–19 cm (4.75-7.5 in) long. They first grow upright, and later incline downward. It flowers from early summer until late fall. The fruit is an egg-shaped spiny capsule, about 5 cm in diameter. It splits open when ripe, dispersing the seeds. Another means of dispersal is by the fruit spines getting caught in the fur of animals, who then carry the fruit far from the mother plant. The seeds have hibernation capabilities, and can last for years in the soil. The seeds, as well as the entirety of this plant, act as deliriants, but have a high probability of overdose. When cultivated, the plant is usually grown from seed, but its perennial rhizomes can be kept from freezing and planted in the spring of the following year. While noted as an annual or perennial herb/forb or shrub by USDA PLANTS, it is noted as a perennial herb by Calflora, which is specific to California, and is classed as such for this screening which is for the California region.
It has also been planted throughout the world as an ornamental plant for its attractive large leaves, large white flowers, and distinctive thorny fruit. However, the plant is now considered an invasive species in several locations. For example, because of the similarity of its life cycle to that of cotton, it is a pest in cotton fields. It is also a potential seed contaminant.