8 Comments

Datura is trickier than it seems, even if you know it's poisonous. I wrote an essay about it. You can find it here: https://waltertschinkel.substack.com/p/pick-your-poison.

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This is a great description of Datura, way more detailed than my short write-up for anyone wanting more details. Thanks for sharing!

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There was a situation in Australia within the last couple of years where people were getting sick from eating bagged spinach. The culprit was almost certainly a Datura species growing as a weed in spinach fields - the young leaves of the two do have a superficial resemblance if you aren't paying attention.

I love Capitol Reef and the Utah desert. I haven't been to the other parks but I love desert landscapes.

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Wow! Based on what I read, I would definitely not want the sickness that comes from consuming Datura leaves, though it seems like the roots and seeds were the most potent parts of the plant. They do look like spinach leaves...

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Sep 19Liked by Heather Wall

Other ways to die in the desert. Perhaps improbable but

1. Getting run over by a dune buggy or ORV or those trucks in all those desert tv commercials!

2. Being flattened by a collapsing saguaro cactus dead from global heating and long drought. This actually was happening this year!

3. Being sandblasted by simoom type dust storms observed in Arizona and elsewhere recently.

There's probably more but the takeaway is the desert can be dangerous butvitvus also one of the most beautiful landscapes in North America.

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There are SO many jeeps and side-by-sides in the desert nowadays! It's become quite the moneymaker for the region, as attested by the plethora of t-shirts celebrating "Hell's Revenge" and other jeep-specific trails. Fortunately, their trails are separate from the hiking/biking trails and we were never in danger of being run over...

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I was being whimsical in my comment, but there's a little truth even in humor!

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The datura are beautiful! Looks like a fun trip out west!

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