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Oak-Leaved Thorn-Apple (Datura quercifolia Kunth)

Also known as Chinese thorn-apple.

Calflora considers Datura ferox L. to be a synonym of this species. However, POWO lists this name as a separate species. We have not yet examined or resolved this inconsistency. For now we use a scheme that seems consistent with BONAP's and Calflora's treatments.

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Range - Expand

LegendColor
Native
Introduced
Native or Not Present
Introduced or Not Present
Native or Introduced or Not Present

This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.

As with many of the Datura species, the exact native range of this is unknown and sometimes disputed. Assessing the distribution of this species is also complicated by disagreements about its taxonomy. For now our map is based loosely on BONAP's. We chose to mark eastern and western populations as introduced because they are separated from the native population by signficant geographic divides in which the plant does not occur; we may update this if we find new information suggesting it would be better to mark some of this range as Expanded.

Notes

The common name "Chinese thorn-apple" is misleading as this species is neither native to, nor even found in the wild in China; as such we recommend avoiding that name. We chose the more descriptive name "oak-leaved thorn-apple".

Datura quercifolia (Chinese thorn-apple) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)

Datura quercifolia | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)

Datura quercifolia Kunth | Plants of the World Online (POWO) (About This Site)

Oak Leaf Datura | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)