The Datura had a lovely flower this morning.
Sometimes called moonflowers, they open at night and close by mid-morning.
Hum, something seems to have been chewing on the leaves.
A few ants were running around on the top of the leaves, but I don’t think they are the culprits.
It’s a young hornworm caterpillar.
You can tell it is young because of the relative length of the “horn.”
Yesterday we looked at a children’s book about cute animals. So, are young hornworms cute or not?
Those rather plain mystery seeds from last week grow into a plant with spectacular flowers.
The Datura (also called jimsom weed and other common names) grows wild here in Arizona. You can often see it along the roadsides.
Although beautiful, Datura plants are members of the nightshade family, and contain poisonous chemicals.
The gorgeous white, tubular flowers are open mostly at night. Does this give you any ideas as to what might pollinate it?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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