Thorn apple (Datura stramonium) - seeds

All parts of this plant are toxic, including the seeds, even at low doses. It contains tropane alkaloids whose effects are serious and can be fatal.

• Never ingest, in any form or at any dose
• Do not smoke, inhale, or prepare as an infusion or decoction
• Handle the seeds with gloves and wash your hands afterwards
• Keep out of reach of children and pets
• Do not plant near a vegetable garden, a sandpit or a play area
• In case of accidental ingestion, immediately call 15 (French emergency services) or a poison control centre

Sale restricted to adults (18 and over).

A packet of Datura stramonium seeds, with a choice of 10 seeds, 1 gram (about 120 seeds) or 10 grams (about 1,200 seeds). Seeds harvested from our mother plants, untreated.

Sow in spring, after the last frosts, in well-drained soil and full sun. The seeds germinate at 20 to 25 °C in one to three weeks. Soaking for 24 hours speeds up germination but is not essential. Sow 5 mm deep, barely covered.

The plant is an annual but self-seeds very easily: this is something to plan for, especially in a garden where children play. Cut off the capsules before they ripen if you do not want it to come back.

It reaches 60 cm to 1.20 m in a single season, as a spreading bush, with a stem often tinged with purple. The white flowers open late in the day and are strongly fragrant in the evening, a sign of their night-time pollination by hawk moths. The spiny capsules that follow are as decorative as the flower, and it is often for them that the plant is grown.

These seeds are sold as ornamental and botanical collector's seeds. They are not a food product and are not intended for any consumption use. We provide no dosage, no preparation method and no expected effect.

What is the difference from Datura innoxia?
Datura stramonium has upright flowers, smooth, clearly toothed foliage and very spiny capsules. Datura innoxia has larger and longer flowers, downy grey-green foliage and capsules bristling with soft spines. Both are equally toxic.

Is it perennial?
No, it is an annual in our climate. But it self-seeds so abundantly that it can seem permanently established.

Are precautions needed when handling it in the garden?
Gloves for sowing, harvesting the capsules and pulling up plants, and washing your hands afterwards. The alkaloids do not pass through intact skin, but the risk is hand-to-mouth transfer.

Can it be grown in a pot?
Yes, in a pot of at least 10 litres. It is even the most prudent option if you want to avoid any spontaneous self-seeding.

Also worth exploring: Datura innoxia, and our other folklore plants.