Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants I've got these things around my big pond...

....and Shorty says, "DON'T EAT THEM".



Fortunately I had no intent on consuming them, but he said they're called "Destroying Angels". They can kill you.

shrooms......

man that grass is green. i havent seen that since May. i suppose here is where i should post the pic of what's growing around my pond.....(i.e....nothing....)

"Fifty-three pounds of edible fungus
In the wilderness a-growin'.
Saved the settlers from starvation,
Helped the founding of this nation.
Fifty-three pounds of edible fungus
In the wilderness a-growin'."

but not those toadstools of yours, Bruce.

i actually do have something growing this time of year, and i actually did take pics to post on brettski's "what kind of flower is this" but i'll put here and instead of makin you guess, i'll tell ya.

here's the pics:






alien seed pod


this is a genus "Datura" aka jimsonweed.......supposedly cultivated and used in spirit rituals by the yaqui indians in sonora or therebouts......i've heard it will make you crazy , then kill you

When the men on the chess board
get up and tell you where to go
And you just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving slow
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know"

~ Jefferson Airplane

Ah yes. Datura. Some often used common names are moonflower, angel trumpet, henbane, dogbane and my favorite Deadly Nightshade. Is sometimes confused with Brugmansia due to very similar flowers in the white varieties.

THIS STUFF IS HIGHLY POISONOUS! Due to the fragrant smell, many animals are attracted to it and may try eating it. Not good. It can also be a very invasive plant in certain climates. Make sure you NEVER let this stuff show it's face in a forage pasture or hay field. It could really do a number on your animals.

Datura was used for home remedy medicinal purposes (and still is to a very limited degree), but due to the widely varying concentrations of the active drugs (atropine, scopolamine and hyoscamine), home remedy use often caused people to go into comas and/or die. Today these drugs are found in over the counter sedatives and pills for asthma, colds, and motion sickness.

Naughty drug dealers have been known to "dress up" really poor quality marijuana with this stuff, and it has caused several deaths in this fashion also.

The flowers are really pretty at night (that's when they bloom), and the main pollenators are bats.

Interesting stuff.

In Fort Lauderdale we grew something that everyone called angle trumpet. It was common in the neighborhood and you could just stick a branch in the ground to propagate it.



Got kind of a grim reaper shape to anyway.

I had those same plants when we first dug our pond; first time I'd ever seen them and was told digging the pond brought the seeds up. I killed every one I saw coming up as I'd heard they were poison not to mention those prickly pods.