species: Brugmansia suaveolens
common name: angel's trumpets
family: Solanaceae
where & when encountered: Ventura, CA - 2019
Sometimes called angel's trumpets, I prefer calling it Brugmansia, the genus in the nightshade family consisting of seven species, all native to South America. They are popular ornamental plants but also toxic, possessing similar alkaloids to deadly nightshade. Some South American native tribes however have figured out ways of using the plant medicinally, in addition to using it as a poisonous sedative.
