jimson weed








noun

  1. a coarse, rank-smelling weed, Datura stramonium, of the nightshade family, having oaklike, poisonous leaves and tubular white or lavender flowers.

noun

  1. US and Canadian a poisonous solanaceous plant, Datura stramonium, of the N hemisphere, having white funnel-shaped flowers and spiny capsule fruitsAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): thorn apple
n.

also jimsonweed, 1812, American English, shortening of Jamestown-weed (1680s), from Jamestown, Virginia colony, where it was discovered by Europeans (1676), when British soldiers mistook it for an edible plant and subsequently hallucinated for 11 days.

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