Organism of the week #13 - Unlucky for some

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:51:02 +0000

I’m a sucker for things that are both poisonous and pretty. Datura metel definitely meets both criteria.

Datura metel (flower)

These photos were taken in southern Spain, where this purple variety of the plant seemed to have naturalised itself out from someone’s garden .

Ominously looming over the Spanish countryside

Datura metel is closely related to Atropa belladonna, the deadly nightshade, and - like it - the plant contains high concentrations of atropine and scopolamine. If eaten, these chemicals clog up receptors in the nervous system, the normal job of which is to cause the body to “rest and digest”. By blocking these receptors, high doses of atropine or scopolamine cause a “flight or fight” response: increased heart rate, dry mouth, reduced gut movement, and dilated pupils. The last of these effects is the source of the belladonna (‘beautiful lady’) of Atropa belladonna: juice from deadly nightshade was used cosmetically during the middle ages to dilate the pupils alluringly - and, one suspects - alarmingly.

scopolamine on Polypompholyx

Organism of the week #13 - Unlucky for some