Strikingly beautiful when in bloom, Brugmansia are much sought after by gardeners for their dramatic pendulous and fragrant flowers and the variety of their colors. They are native to the Andes: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and to Central America. Their "magical qualities" have been known and used by the native people of these countries for centuries.

A member of the deadly nightshade family, the Solanaceae, Angel's Trumpets are rich in alkaloids. Quantity wise, scopolamine is the most important, a drug still used in modern western medicine. Such a fact requires a word of caution. In excess, scopolamine can have dire, even fatal results.

Once classified in a single genus with Datura, they were officially recognized in 1973 as the separate genus Brugmansia. The Angel's Trumpets in contrast to Datura, are bushes or trees, and long lived, living for several decades. Flowers are pendulous in contrast to upright as with Datura.

The flowers perfume the evening air, a mechanism for attracting their pollinators. The one exception is the B. sanguinea which is pollinated by hummingbirds that have a weak sense of smell, but a well developed visual sense for the color red.

Location in the Garden

Brugmansia can be found in the Nurseryman's Garden (Bed 49I) and the Andean Cloud Forest (Beds 54 and 55).

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IN BLOOM CONTRIBUTORS

Photos and text by Docent Joanne Taylor
Profile by Associate Curator David Kruse-Pickler