Starting with today’s entry, we welcome Connor Fitzpatrick to BPotD. Connor is a third-year student at UBC, and he’s going to be helping me with write-ups and photographs for BPotD over the next ten weeks. He’s already been assigned to approach UBC faculty and grad students for a BPotD series on plant research at UBC, for the upcoming Celebrate Research week. Welcome, Connor! — Daniel.
Connor writes:
Thanks for this image submitted by stephenbuchan of Scotland (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). It’s greatly appreciated.
A member of the Solanaceae family, this plant’s common names include angel’s trumpet and angel’s tears. It’s not hard to imagine why people commonly name this plant the angel’s trumpet. Only a flower like this could look as sweet as it sounds. However, Brugmansia suaveolens isn’t the only species to receive this common name. In fact, looking at GRIN’s records of species for Brugmansia, nearly all have been likened to heavenly brass.
GRIN reports this plant as having a native range throughout Brazil and western South America (Bolivia and Peru). This plant has been used for centuries by people as an antiasthmatic and antispasmodic medication as well as a hallucinogen (see PDF link below). The chemicals in Brugmansia suaveolens responsible for this activity are called tropane alkaloids. They are produced to undertake the role of defence against herbivores. Here (PDF) is an interesting experiment by Zayed & Wink from 2004 regarding the production of tropane alkaloids in Brugmansia suaveolens.
Welcome, Connor, and thanks for a great write up! And thanks to Stephen for the picture. I grow 2 varieties of this plant in my greenhouse, and another notable feature is its heavenly fragrance, especially at night, when the plant holds its blooms facing more outward, rather than hanging down vertically as during daytime (apparently attributed to pollination by night flying insects). When my plants are in bloom, it permeates the entire room!
I’ve grown the pink and yellow brugmansias in containers for years now, and every spring they come out of the basement looking like withered sticks and yet ‘spring’ forth in green every year! Then those heavenly flowers wafting through the air around 5:30 on a summer evening as I sip my red wine on my deck while my husband tends a savoury barbeque dinner on the coals. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH, aren’t we lucky?
welcome Connor … to a great resource – BPotD.
I am so jealous of Bev and Loey. I love flowers that have a nice scent. My friend grows pots and pots of lilys on her patio, and when the weather gets hot, she puts them under her canopy. To go over there on a hot summer afternoon and sip tea is one of my favorite things to do. Too bad we live in such a cold climate, as she would probably grow these too. They are so beautiful.
Sue, don’t let the cold northwest climate prevent you from growing these magnificent plants! I live in Pullman (where the climate is much colder) and I have a Brugmansia in my bedroom that perfumes the entire house each night with its blossoms. These plants thrive in pots out of doors in the Puget Sound region from late early May to late September, and during the colder months of the year you can either bring them indoors near a bright window or put them in a cool dark area where they will go dormant to awaken next Spring. They are marvelous on late summer evenings. Good luck!
Welcome, Connor!
I have grown a white Datura (a related species, or the same by another name?) for years, in fact it self-seeds a little too easily in my Toronto garden.
Welcome Connor and many thanks to the BPotD staff. I am a botanical artist and I have been receiving your daily picutures for two weeks. I am so glad to have found you. Also I shared your site with the Yahoo’s Botanical Illustration group site.
Again I thank you,
Linda Miller, Williamsburg VA
I love the color of this flower.
I wonder why there’s no “raindrops” on surrounding foliage or branches or things in the background? I suspect a spray bottle was used to give the appearance of raindrops.
I have just posted to paintings of Brugmansia to my web-site: http://www.hulseytrustystudios.com. Click on the Ann Trusty Gallery to see.
Many thanks.
There’s nothing like a touch of moisture on a plant’s inflorescence to really suggest a certain delicious sumptuousness, isn’t there? Works for me every time.
Cold watermelon, anyone?
Welcome Connor!
welcome connor
we did worry we might lose our favorite page
thank you daniel
i live in florida this lovely plant
grows very well here
Thanks for the welcome everyone! I believe I employ the same method as cody to keep my angels trumpet alive throughout the winter.
Brugmansia suaveolens – min. 7 degrees C/45 degrees F – A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk
Brugmansia brug-man-see-a Shrubs and trees, formerly included in Datura, from which the species differ in having pendulous flowers. suaveolens swah-vee-o-lenz. Sweetly scented. Dictionary of Plant Names, Coombes
Barbara lamb…in your short season after the first flush of bloom let dry out severely and it will set some seeds usually in defense or survival. I live in the south so I don’t have to worry about the seeds.
Hi I have yellow and pink brugs and would like to purchase other colors . Could you help me where to obtain these
I live in Langley
Thank YOU ELSE STOCKMAN
Else, that is a question that will be answered with much more speed on the forums (see link below the “Leave a comment” bit below).