Angel's-trumpets vs Common Thorn-Apple

Datura ferox compared with Datura stramonium

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Angel's-trumpets	Common Thorn-Apple
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Solanales (Solanales)	Solanales (Solanales)
Family same	Solanaceae	Solanaceae
Genus same	Datura	Datura
Species	Datura ferox	Datura stramonium

Evolutionary Relationship

Angel's-trumpets and Common Thorn-Apple share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Datura.

View Genus: Datura

Conservation Status

Angel's-trumpets

NE — Not Evaluated

Common Thorn-Apple

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Angel's-trumpets	Common Thorn-Apple
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Angel's-trumpets

Habitat

Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas and montane grasslands and shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (9 countries), Asia (4 countries), Europe (14 countries), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Common Thorn-Apple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (26 countries), Asia (20 countries), Europe (35 countries), North America (9 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (6 countries), and South America (7 countries).

Angel's-trumpets

The Angel's-trumpets (Datura ferox) is a species in the genus Datura. Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas and montane grasslands and shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Common Thorn-Apple

<em>Datura stramonium</em>, the common thorn apple or jimsonweed, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, believed to be native to Central America or southern North America but now cosmopolitan, occurring in over 90 countries across temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List as a widespread weed. The plant grows in disturbed soils, waste ground, roadsides, agricultural fields, and gardens. It bears large, lobed leaves with an unpleasant odor, distinctive white to pale violet trumpet-shaped flowers, and spiny seed capsules. All parts of <em>Datura stramonium</em> are highly toxic, containing tropane alkaloids including scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, which can cause severe poisoning in humans and livestock. Despite its toxicity, it has a long history of medicinal and ritual use across many cultures. The species is considered an invasive weed in many agricultural contexts. Biological traits such as seed output per plant, precise lifespan, and biomass data remain poorly documented in standardized global assessments.