Datura discolor
Bernh. · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Datura discolor's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation4 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility5 935 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics4 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotypeEvery layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Datura discolor, also called the desert thorn-apple, is an herbaceous annual plant native to the Sonoran Desert of western North America, where it grows in sandy soils and washes. All parts of the plant contain a mix of alkaloids that are potentially lethal when enough is ingested. Deaths from careless recreational use of Datura and related plants are frequently reported.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology3
Life cycle & reproduction3
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment6
Physiology & chemistry1
Compounds documented for Datura discolor across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile2 classes
Documented compounds17 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (8-Methyl-8-Azabicyclo(3.2.1)Octan-3-Yl) Acetate | present | LOTUS | |
| (8-Methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-yl) 2-methylbut-2-enoate | present | LOTUS | |
| (S)-((1R,3r,5S)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo(3.2.1)octan-3-yl) 3-hydroxy-2-phenylpropanoate | present | LOTUS | |
| 9-Methyl-3-oxa-9-azatricyclo(3.3.1.02,4)nonan-7-yl tropate | present | LOTUS | |
| Atropine | present | LOTUS | |
| Benzeneacetic acid, alpha-(hydroxymethyl)-, (3-endo)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo(3.2.1)oct-3-yl ester, (alphaS)- | present | LOTUS | |
| Kaempferol 7-glucoside | present | LOTUS | |
| Kaempferol-3-rhamnoglucoside-7-glucoside | present | LOTUS | |
| Methane | present | LOTUS | |
| Npc172518 | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Datura discolor has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Datura discolor carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 245×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-fedorov +1
n 124×CCDB · solan
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type5 935 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions55 of 85 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| San Diego, US | 111 |
| Mexico City, MX | 108 |
| Durango, MX | 99 |
| Riverside, US | 78 |
| San Francisco, US | 75 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 57 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 56 |
| Saint Louis, US | 40 |
| La Paz, MX | 39 |
| Culiacán, MX | 38 |
| Phoenix, US | 38 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 33 |
| Claremont, US | 31 |
| Calabar, NG | 29 |
| Hermosillo, MX | 25 |
| Austin, US | 21 |
| The University of Arizonalocation not on record | 18 |
| Mexico City, MX | 18 |
| Ensenada, MX | 17 |
| Zacatecas, MX | 14 |
| Cambridge, US | 14 |
| Juriquilla, MX | 9 |
| Ciudad de México, MX | 8 |
| Chapingo, MX | 7 |
| Flagstaff, US | 7 |
| Pullman, US | 7 |
| Sociedad para el Estudio de los Recursos Bióticos de Oaxaca, A. C.location not on record | 7 |
| Kew, GB | 6 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 6 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 6 |
| Autlán de Navarro, MX | 6 |
| Tlalnepantla, MX | 5 |
| Bronx, US | 5 |
| Madison, US | 5 |
| Guasave, MX | 5 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 4 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 4 |
| Córdoba, AR | 4 |
| EL PASO, US | 4 |
| Davis, US | 4 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 3 |
| León, NI | 3 |
| Arizona State University Biocollectionslocation not on record | 3 |
| MAlocation not on record | 3 |
| Los Angeles, US | 3 |
| Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxicolocation not on record | 3 |
| Mazatlán, MX | 3 |
| South Kensington, GB | 3 |
| Albuquerque, US | 3 |
| Irvine, US | 3 |
| Arizona Western Collegelocation not on record | 3 |
| Tampa, US | 2 |
| Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Moreloslocation not on record | 2 |
| Paris, FR | 2 |
| New Mexico State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Northridge, US | 2 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 2 |
| Pomona Collegelocation not on record | 2 |
| Denver, US | 1 |
| Fort Worth, US | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Pocatello, US | 1 |
| Laboratorio de Ictiologialocation not on record | 1 |
| MEXUlocation not on record | 1 |
| Logan, US | 1 |
| Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabascolocation not on record | 1 |
| CASlocation not on record | 1 |
| Arcata, US | 1 |
| NGCPR01110location not on record | 1 |
| NGCPR01107location not on record | 1 |
| Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| NGCPR01111location not on record | 1 |
| NGCPR01109location not on record | 1 |
| NGCPR01108location not on record | 1 |
| San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Juan College School of Science Math & Engineeringlocation not on record | 1 |
| Austin, US | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Bloomington, US | 1 |
| Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahualocation not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Datura discolor was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.