Daturas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of flowering plants known for their trumpet-shaped blooms, often associated with toxic properties and psychoactive effects
2. Plants belonging to a group characterized by large, fragrant, tubular flowers, which can be poisonous if ingested
3. A category of herbs and shrubs commonly recognized for their striking blossoms and potential hallucinogenic effects on humans

Etymology: "Daturas" is the plural of "datura", a noun for poisonous flowering plants. The singular takes its name from the genus it belongs to. Datura is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, and the trumpet-shaped blooms and spiny seed capsules of its members are the source of the common name in English. The genus name itself came from Sanskrit "dhattūra", the name for a plant that Europeans encountered in India, and it reached European languages through Arabic and Persian routes before botanists adopted it as a Latin scientific name. Sanskrit "dhattūra" is the ancestor the source relates to the genus, so the word's path runs from South Asia into Western botanical Latin. The plurals "daturas" and "daturae" both appear in use, with the English "-s" form being the one most readers will meet.