This Poisonous Plant Might Be Popping Up Near You

Our El Paso weather is so beautiful all year round and so are the plants that magically pop up around town. Recently, this gorgeous plant with white bell-shaped flowers with spiky balls has been found in my brother's backyard, which is in the far east; along with the Clint area. Yes, I did stop in the middle of a country road to check out the plant. It is just that beautiful to me.

Now I am no botanist, but always wanted to be because of DC Comics' Posion Ivy but I do have Google. After reading multiple google articles, I came to the conclusion that this plant is called Datura and it extremely poisonous, due to being part of the Solanum family. After showing a few people my photo, they said they have seen the plant before but not growing out this big! Some people, including myself, had no idea this plant was so poisonous. According to dengarden.com, this plant is not safe at all for children and pets. For adults, we can handle the toxins the plant is covered in but too much of it can cause hallucinations and death.

After reading that I of course, I freaked out because I was touching it and smelling it and telling it how pretty it is; when this whole time it was trying to kill me/get me high. Not cool plant. Be on the lookout for this plant around town and don't make the mistake I did. Especially if you have children and animals, do not let them near it!

P.S. don't tell your friends who like to experiment with substances about it either. Some people do use it as a recreational drug, according to the internet.