Jump to content
UltravioletPhotography

Thorn Apple (Datura sp.)


Adrian

Recommended Posts

Many years ago I read the book The Unofficial Countryside by UK author Richard Mabey. He mentions the fact that if you infuse the seed pod of Thorn Apple (Datura sp.) in Surgical spirit, the liquid glows. I finally got the chance to try it this year, and soaked the seed pods for 12 hours. The liquid did not glow, but did fluoresce in UV light.

Does anyone have an explanation or is it a chemical "accident"? I can find nothing on the net.

Adrian Davies

post-47-0-06244200-1418378800.jpg

Link to comment
The author may have meant that the solution was visibly luminescent while being exposed to sunlight. Things which are chemiluminescent or phosphorescent are much more rare.
Link to comment

Thorn apple, a.k.a., Jimson weed, was known for other uses in the '60's. :)

Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, Devil's snare, or datura, is a plant in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. It is believed to have originated in the Americas, but is now found around the world.[1] Other common names for D. stramoniuminclude thornapple and moon flower,[2] and it has the Spanish name Toloache.[3] Other names for the plant include hell's bells, devil’s trumpet, devil’s weed, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, pricklyburr, and devil’s cucumber.[4]

For centuries, datura has been used as a herbal medicine to relieve asthma symptoms and as an analgesic during surgery or bonesetting. It is also a powerful hallucinogen and deliriant, which is used spiritually for the intense visions it produces. However, the tropane alkaloids responsible for both the medicinal and hallucinogenic properties are fatally toxic in only slightly higher amounts than the medicinal dosage, and careless use often results in hospitalizations and deaths.

 

Ah, the nightshades, and the deadly nightshade...

Link to comment

Andrea,

 

No, I was wrong, surgical spirit is not ethanol, surgical spirit "in the UK is a mixture of Methyl Alcohol and Ethyl Alcohol"

 

So, the methyl alcohol makes the surgical spirit toxic.

Link to comment

Apologies for not replying sooner for the replies to my post. Firstly, no the surgical spirit does not fluoresce by itself.

Secondly,surgical spirit, as marketed in the UK, consists of: castor oil, methyl salicyate, industrial methylated spirit, diethyl phthalate (from the bottle!)

 

Many thanks for the interest! I may try other seed pods next year.

Link to comment
  • 10 months later...

Datura contains some interesting stuff! Scopoletin fluorescence around 460nm is induced by 350nm excitation. That could perhaps account for your cyan fluorescence if this was the chemical which leached out into the alcohol mixture.

 

[Chemical constituents of Datura stramonium seeds].

 

Oxidative burst and hypoosmotic stress in tobacco cell suspensions

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...