Plant identification help!

[telophase]

Asking for my mom. This is a plant that showed up randomly in her garden this year. It had big trumpet flowers earlier - she sent me a pic which is lost in my inbox somewhere, but this fall when it lost its leaves and developed a big spiky ball seed pod/fruit/whatsit, she pulled it up, to discover its root looks tuberous, sort of like horseradish.

Here's a photo I took of it on the patio, with my foot for scale.





And a bit closer on the spiky bit.



The root is that horizontal job at the bottom of the pic.

Anyway, it's been driving her nuts that she has no idea what it is. Any ideas?

Comments

[settiai]

It looks kind of like a datura to me.

[telophase]

Interesting! Wonder how it ended up in Mom's garden? (which consists of a concrete patio and a bunch of rocks on which she set pots.)

[settiai]

There was probably one nearby that nobody pulled up, and the seeds went flying everywhere. That's where they usually came from when I was growing up, at least.

[telophase]

Come to think of it, the elderly lady next door to her died this year and her son's been fixing up the house to sell. I can't remember when he started - maybe attacking the garden spread them.

[rusty76]

Datura - probably white. It can be very pretty and is highly drought tolerant.

[lanerobins.livejournal.com]

Delurking to say it might be datura. It has pods like that, and has trumpet like flowers.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Huh, interesting!

"Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds," along with deadly nightshade, henbane, and mandrake. Most parts of the plants contain toxic hallucinogens, and datura has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death. It was well known as an essential ingredient of love potions and witches' brews."

I wonder if there's something Mom isn't telling me....

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

I'd concur - the seed pod is dead on, the root looks correct, and "trumpet like flowers" are the main descriptor for datura.

My only caveat is that I have never noticed wild or feral datura growing in the Brazos Valley.

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, it's wild cucumber. Almost unkillable; extremely invasive. She should probably dab Roundup on anything that resprouts.

It has an enormous tuberous root. If she has dug that out, she can watch for resurgences anyway.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Huh, interesting. Well, her garden consists of an enclosed concrete patio with some rock-covered ground (which is where this thing sprouted, I think), upon which she places pots to grow things, so any resurgence should be easily spotted.