The peculiar history of thornapple, the hallucinogenic weed that ended up in supermarket spinach

  • Written by: David Caldicott, Senior lecturer, Australian National University
The peculiar history of thornapple, the hallucinogenic weed that ended up in supermarket spinachShutterstock

The agent that contaminated baby spinach, prompting the recent national recall, has been revealed. It’s a weed, not deliberate misadventure or a chemical contaminant.

The culprit is thornapple, otherwise known as jimsonweed or, to give it its scientific name, Datura stramonium.

Multiple cases of poisoning, now extending into their...

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