One of the Southwest’s most attractive plants, the Sacred Datura, is also one of its most deadly. Every now and then newspapers carry the grisly story of someone who, after experimenting with a species of Datura, wanders for days through desert delusions until brought down by the searing heat. While seeking heavenly visions, the user ignored the possibility that he might be creating his own physical hell. For along with the hallucinogens, this plant packs a payload capable of ending the search.
Otherwise known as thorn apple and Indian apple, the Sacred Datura is closely related to jimsonweed and is part of the nightshade clan, a worldwide plant family encompassing both reputable and notorious members. The most famous of these are tomatoes, eggplants, hot and sweet peppers, and potatoes. Of course, these plants were also considered poisonous in the past. Datura favors the less beloved branch of the nightshade family, the one implicated in murder, witchcraft, seductions, and orgies. (Read the rest …)
Just about everybody likes to eat insects - mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, spiders, other insects, and even some humans. Over in Great Britain, a scientist with time on his hands calculated that the country’s spiders consume enough insects each year to total the combined weight of the entire human population. And that’s just the spiders. Why, then, are there so many insects left over?
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