Sacred Thorn Apple
Datura metel
Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 3–4 feet
- Spread
- 3–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- July to August
Recorded in 4 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Datura
- Agrius cingulataPink-Spotted Hawkmoth, Sweet Potatoe Caterpillar
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
- Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
- Nepheloleuca politiaSpotted Swallow-tailed Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Show all 11
- Calosima albapenella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Datura
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow, purple or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications