Unknown plant in green house

[rodevans]

Can anyone help please? I found this plant gorwing in my green house between the tomatoes and cucumbers!

It is approx 4' tall and has a thick plain green stem.

The pod is spikey and is approximately 3" - 4" long with their being around 15-20 spikes per pod. Inside the pod is a large numbre of small black seeds.

http://www.v-images.co.uk/P1010006.jpg

and the leaves are large approx 10" long:

http://www.v-images.co.uk/P1010008.jpg


Any thoughts as to what it is and what I should do about it / with it?

Thanks

Rod

[Summer House]

Hi Rod,

This is a plant I have seen growing but can't remember where or what it was I will keep on looking.

I have been looking in the books and on the web and the nearest I can get is a Thorn_apple which although very similar does not look quite the same as your pictures.

It is a native plant of America and was introduced here in the 17th century for it's medicinal properties it now grows mainly as a weed on waste ground but is still used in contemporary medicine and is POISONOUS it attacks the nervous system and causes hallucinations. I don't know but I would think you would have to eat it or drink a brew to have this affect but I would put gloves on to handle it.
The leaves are glossy with toothed edges, the flowers are trumpet-shaped and are purple or white, the seeds are inside a case the size of a chestnut case when ripe the case splits from the top and black kidney shaped seeds fall out. Have a look at this website :- www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thorna12.html it tells you all about Thorn-apple. It is related to Angels trumpets.

Brugmansia (Angels trumpets) is grown in gardens for it's long trumpet like flowers but is just as POISONOUS. This is probably the plant I am trying to remember. There are 2 examples on the latest Complete Gardens CD.

I hope this will be of some help.

Yours

Summer House

[sweetpea]

Hi there!

I think your plant is a Datura.
It is indeed poisonous. Common name Thorn Apple

I grew some this year
regards
Sweetpea

[Killifi]

Hi I am new here this is my first post (but not my last I hope lol) the plant is one I had in my garden in Kenya and the locals called it a dura and it is very poisonous, they use it to make the poison for the blowpipe darts, it should have large white flowers. If you handle it and break the leaf vein or stem the milky sap is what they use for the darts mixed with the crushed seeds so be very careful