This Brugmansia, known as “Culebra Angel's Trumpets” was initially known as Methysticodendron amesianum because its morphology was so specific that botanists made it a genus.
Identity Card
Taxonomy
Detailed Informations
Etymology
The genus Brugmansia is named after Sebald Justin Brugmans (1763 – 1819), Deutch Professor of natural history. ‘Culebra’ means “grass snake” in Spanish.
Description and flowering period
It is a shrub which reaches up to 8 meters in height, bears dark green deciduous leaves and large pendulous, off-white flowers. What sets it apart from the rest of the genus Brugmansia is the shape of its leaves and flowers: the former are narrow and elongated with wavy irregular margins (as opposed to oval with neat or dented margins), the latter are composed of 5 free narrow petals (as opposed to 5 fused petals which form a trumpet-shaped flower). The species’ morphology was so peculiar that it was originally put in a different Genus: Methysticodendron. However, botanists have recently reached the conclusion that the plant’s peculiar characters are in fact the result of a mutation which appeared in Brugmansia plants which were cultivated by Colombian Amerindian people. It was consequently given the cultivar (horticultural variety) name ‘Culebra’.
Habitat
It requires a fresh, silty-sandy soil in a sunny location. It can withstand temperatures down to – 7°C.
Uses
- Ornamental.
- Medicinal: It is used as poultice by Ecuadorian tribes.
Miscellaneous
It is used as a hallucinogen.
Notes
All Brugmansia species are unknown in the wild. It is now believed that their wild ancestors have disappeared and that only domesticated forms cultivated by the Amerindian people for their cultural and medicinal value have survived.
Translated by: François Saint-Hillier – MNHN