Even Deadly!

 Story and Photos by Sandra Olmsted

Moonflowers can refer to a variety of plants whose flowers open at a specific time of day, much like Morning Glories or Four O’Clocks. As the name implies, Moonflowers open at dusk and are intensely fragrant, at least the ones I know as Moonflowers. They are a large flower, 4 – 6 inches across. They grow on a bush although I have grown a vining variety, too. Their fragrance is delicious and unbelievably strong, especially in the early evening. The Moonflower makes a great addition to an evening garden near an area where one sits outside at sunset.

Moonflowers are not without drawbacks, and this is true of many of the plants called Moonflowers. The particular Moonflower, which is pictured here, I have heard the called Night Blooming Jasmine or Sacred Datura. Since they are members of the Nightshade (Solanaceae) family, Moonflowers are poisonous. Any Moonflower should be planted with caution, as many are poisonous or at the very least toxic.

Moonflowers, which are annuals, take two to three weeks to germinate and seem to grow slowly until they get started, then they grow exponentially. Once they begin blooming, the number of blooms per evening increases almost every night. They also reseed themselves when the seedpods burst open when completely dried. These heirloom seeds germinate better if collected after a frost. These were planted around tree stumps because I have seen them devour stumps over a few seasons.

Although the Solanaceae family includes potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers, ingesting the Moonflowers causes agitation and confusion, increased heart rate and blood pressure, dry mouth, hot flushed skin, blurred vision, and in severe poisonings, seizures and comas. Tomatoes being in the Nightshade family accounts for the now popular fruits once being thought to be poisonous. The Solanaceae family also includes petunias, tobacco, belladonna, mandrake, henbane, and solandra.

Moonflower is a common name for several nocturnal bloomers, including varieties which have other color blooms: Nightblooming cereus species, including Hylocereus; Ipomoea species previously separated in Calonyction, including I. alba; Mentzelia species, including M. pumila; and Oenothera, also called evening primrose. Before planting these or any plant, one should research the toxic properties of the plant and carefully consider whether the plant might endanger children, pets, or farm animals.

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