Datura discolor

Desert thorn-apple

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Desert thorn-apple is a California native perennial found in the southern desert regions in sandy, gravelly washes and dry habitats at elevations below 600 meters. Flowering from February to May and August to December, this plant produces spectacular white flowers with purple markings in the throat, reaching 10 to 16 centimeters long. Growing with gray-hairy stems up to one meter tall, it forms a distinctive short-lived perennial with widely spreading branches. Its large leaves are widely ovate, measuring 6 to 12 centimeters long and 4 to 10 centimeters wide, with coarse tooth-like edges. The plant develops distinctive nodding fruits approximately 35 millimeters wide, covered in weak prickles less than 2 centimeters long.

Habitat: Sandy, gravelly soils, washes

Bloom period: (Jan) Feb-May, Aug--Dec

Elevation: < 600 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: Imperial, Riverside, Inyo, San Diego, San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.