Sacred Datura

These stunning flowers have the unusual name of Sacred Datura, more commonly known as prickly burr, angel's trumpet, desert thornapple or jimsonweed. Here is the classification from the USDA:

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass	Asteridae
Order	Solanales
Family	Solanaceae – Potato family
Genus	Datura L. – jimsonweed
Species	Datura inoxia Mill. – pricklyburr

They are highly visible along many highways in northern Arizona during the spring and summer months. Like many other plants, they take advantage of the extra water that comes from being next to the asphalt runoff. The plants are highly toxic and I have always known that they were dangerous to cattle. Quoting from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, "Extracts from this plant and its relatives are narcotic and, when improperly prepared, lethal. The narcotic properties of species have been known since before recorded history. They once figured importantly in religious ceremonies of southwestern Indians." I always guessed that jimsonweed must have had a really good PR company to get a name change to sacred datura.