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Old 23-11-2006, 03:08 AM posted to alt.binaries.pictures.gardens
Mark Herbert Mark Herbert is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2006
Posts: 25
Default Shaman Plant - brug1.jpg (1/1)

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article ,
Mark Herbert wrote:

Of the many plants of ethnopharmacological interest which I grow in my
yard, I am particularly fond of my Brugmansias. I have several in pots
and a few in the ground. They are perennial in my zone (7b), dying back
to the ground each winter. This one grows to about 8-9 feet tall each
summer and has very large leaves up to 18" long, and big double creamy
white flowers. The flowers are practically odorless in the day, but as
soon as the sun sets they exude a powerfully hypnotic fragrance which is
said to cause intense nightmares if you should have one planted outside
your bedroom window. All parts of this plant are poisonous, containing
tropane alkaloids which have been used by shamans for time immemorial
for divination and healing.

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Datura? :-)

I've not started collecting those yet.
I visited a greenhouse in Houston once that had them in several colors!

Beautiful, and hardy.

Maybe we can do some trading. I have a nice crop of San Pedro "buds"
that are available for cuttings. Also some Peruvian torch seeds if you
are game to try growing cactus from seed.


I have some lovely little baby SP's that I sprouted from them. :-)


I ate the one San Pedro I had a couple of years ago. I expected it to
recover and produce new buds, but it never did and eventually just died.
I tend to overwater cacti and they rarely thrive in my keep. Maybe if I
grew some from seeds, I would have a better grasp of their needs.

I'll be pawing through my seed collection in a few months to get an
early start on Spring. I'll let you know what I have that I think may
interest you.