Mystery Nightshade
Marguerite English (Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:13:04 PDT)
Your mystery seedling looks like datura to me. Sometimes called Jimson
weed, I have read that it spread across the continent starting in
Jamestown settlement. It has a strange, musky scent and some folks are
allergic to it, so don't touch its leaves without gloves. It's roots are
almost impossible to dig if you let it attain full growth. It is a
deadly poison, and we have had several residents at the drug rehab
school in our valley who found some and then had to be life-flighted out.
David Ehrlich wrote:
I have a strange weed growing in one of my pots. I'm pretty sure it's a Datura,
but I don't know what species, nor how its seed got into my pot as no Datura is
native to this part of the S.F. Peninsula.
I combined the photos and gab into a blog which can be accessed at
http://mysterynightshade.blogspot.com/