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Jimsonweed and the Jamestown Settlement
A Brief Introduction to the Devil’s Trumpet
Jimsonweed, also known as Jamestown weed contains toxic poisons throughout the plant, from the roots through to the petals of the flower. It is a pretty bloom and has been nicknamed The Devil’s Trumpet due to the shape of the blooms as well as its toxic properties. It is easy to see why the plant would be called The Devil’s Trumpet, but how did this plant become known as Jamestown weed? Well, that is one straight from the history books!
A History Lesson
All one would have to do is Google Jimsonweed to learn about its toxic properties. It doesn’t take long before the relationship between Jimsonweed and Jamestown become apparent. Jamestown is one of the earliest settlements in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1676, Governor William Berkeley was run out of town by Nathaniel Bacon in what would be known as The Rebellion of Bacon. While waiting for reinforcements, Governor Berkeley took up residence across the river. His soldiers would then unwittingly fall victim to their circumstance by simply eating salad (thecannachronicles.com).
After boiling the attractive plant and adding it to salad, the soldiers consumed, for some, large portions of the toxic plant. It was not long before the soldiers began to hallucinate and lose control of their own actions becoming delirious. Many of the men began playing tricks and acting foolishly. Some would run around naked acting like monkeys, some blowing feathers in the air while another would shoot darts of straw at the feather (chapelofhopestories.com). To avoid the soldiers from injuring themselves or others, they were isolated from others. The ingestion of the plant was not toxic enough to kill them, but it was toxic enough for them to not have a care of what they were doing, so far as to even roll around in their own excrement. This went on for 11 days before the men returned to their senses, at which point none of them remembered what they did.
The scientific name of Jimsonweed is Datura stramonium. As mentioned, when the plant blooms, the petals form a trumpet shape and vary in color from creamy white to violet. The bloom is very attractive, yet also very toxic. Many farmers will cultivate the plants out of their fields where they may have animals grazing to prevent them from becoming ill. The plant contains in all parts of it from roots to petals atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine which are classified as deliriants (Wikipedia.org). This would not be prescribed by a medical professional.
Knowledge is Power
The soldiers of Jamestown were in a position of being run out of town, waiting for the British to arrive, cold and hungry. They were simply going about their evening and eating what they thought was a simple salad. These men had no idea that their meal of choice would be one that would enter them into the history books. It is not known why they chose to boil the plant before eating it, they may have thought that by cooking the plant any toxic properties would be eliminated, or maybe they just wanted something warm in their meal. Either way, it goes without saying, going forward they were most likely much more careful of their food of choice.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium
Image Credits:
Settlers [ID 52307078 © Joe Sohm | Dreamstime.com]
