Description: Summer-growing annual herbs, glabrous or hairy with glandular or simple, non-glandular hairs.
Leaves alternate, simple, margins entire or lobed, petiolate.
Flowers solitary in forks of branches, bisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx tubular; lobes 3–9 but usually 5; base persistent in fruit. Corolla usually funnel-shaped or trumpet-shaped, white or variously coloured; limb shortly 5-lobed or appearing 10-lobed. Stamens usually 5, equal, inserted in lower half of corolla tube. Anthers 2-locular, basifixed, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Ovary 2-locular, or falsely 4-locular in basal half; stigma saddle-shaped.
Fruit a 2–4-locular, spiny or tuberculate capsule, opening regularly or irregularly from apex.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 10 species, Central & South America, China, Asia & northern Africa. Australia: 6 species (1 species native, 5 species naturalized), all States.
Text by B. J. Conn
Taxon concept:
Taxa not yet included in identification key
Datura innoxia
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Leaves lobed; lobes usually toothed or sinuate; capsule erect; seeds black or grey | 2 |
| Leaves entire to sinuate or lobed; lobes entire; capsule deflexed; seeds brown or yellow | 3 |
| 2 | Flowers 6–10 cm long; capsule with more than 100 slender spines of various lengths, evenly distributed | Datura stramonium |
| Flowers 4.5–6 cm long; capsule with 40–60 stout spines, spines towards base usually shorter
Back to 1 | Datura ferox |
| 3 | Plants glabrous, or sparsely hairy with non-glandular hairs | 4 |
| Plants tomentose with non-glandular and/or glandular hairs
Back to 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Branches green; flowers 4.5–7 cm long; capsule with numerous sharp spines, longest 4–9 mm long. | Datura leichhardtii |
| Branches tinged with purple; flowers 14–20 cm long; capsule with numerous short spines, blunt tubercle-like, all 2–5 mm long
Back to 3 | Datura metel |
| 5 | Hairs glandular, erect; stigma well below level of anthers; margin of corolla-limb angular | Datura inoxia |
| Hairs mostly non-glandular and retrorse, some glandular and erect; stigma usually exserted well above anthers; margin of corolla limb rounded
Back to 3 | Datura wrightii |
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