As I was taking a few photos in my backyard I noticed a white flower that I had never seen before. I was curious and I intuitively  decided to take a photo of it. But, not only did I photograph it, but I did a search for the flower on the internet.  To my surprise I discovered that I had an extremely toxic flower in my garden.  I asked my mother where this plant came from.  She said that she was given the seeds on her recent visit to  Canada.  The flower has many names;  jimson weed, stink weed, devils’ trumpet and loco weed etc. The whole plant is toxic not just the seeds.  One can go mad  and have hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. There have even been cases of hospitalizations and deaths from the comsumption of this plant. Even smelling the plant and breathing into it for too long can cause a person to experience hallucinations.  In Greece, a family was admitted to the hospital when they had accidentally mixed the toxic plant with other weeds (that Greeks normally eat) and consumed it.  Some teenagers use the plant as a recreational drug by eating the seeds or drinking teas made from the plant, but it’s very dangerous because the side effects are unpredictable.  These plants can be found in your garden from bird droppings or by roadsides and wastelands. Get rid of it if you find it!  It looks like I have a lot of weeding to do this weekend!

Στην Ελλαδα το ονομαζουμε ‘βρομοχορτο’ οπως το ‘στινκ ουιντ’ στα Αγγλικα λογο τις ασχημης μηρουδιας που εκπεμπει το φυτο.