Datura and Brugmansia genera (Solanaceae) in the Hanbury Botanical Gardens: taxonomic and ethnopharmacological survey.

In the Hanbury Botanical Gardens, La Mortola (Ventimiglia, Italy) there is a healthy representation of the genera Datura and Brugmansia. Many samples of acclimatated Brugmansia in the gardens derive from hybridization procedures which are still being studied. Of particular interest are the specimens of the historical Herbarium. Here we emphasize the ethnopharmacological importance of the various taxa. In their original regions the latter were used, going right back in time, as poisons as for therapeutic, aphrodisiac and psychedelic purposes.