Iraq Ministry Reports Datura Plant Spread in Agricultural Areas

Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior has warned farmers and residents to watch for datura plants, also called jimsonweed, thorn apple or devil’s trumpet. The ministry stated that the plant contains toxic compounds that can affect the nervous systems of humans, animals and crops.

The plant features white or purple trumpet-shaped flowers, green prickly fruit and large leaves with a pungent odour. It produces the alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine, which are used in precise medical doses to dilate pupils, treat motion sickness and manage some seizures.

Mohammed Omer, a professor of chemistry at the University of Sulaimani, told Al Jazeera that datura originated in Central America and was used by Indigenous peoples for anaesthesia and pain relief. European colonisers carried the plant to Europe in the late 15th century, after which it spread to other continents.

A University of Seville team examined more than 124,000 recorded sightings and identified 7,444 documented locations. The study found 57 percent of these sites in cold climates, far from the plant’s warm native habitat, and noted that only 1 percent of suitable global areas remain uninvaded.

Elhagarey, a professor at the Egyptian Desert Research Center, told Al Jazeera that Iraq’s nitrogen-rich riverbank soils and hot, semi-arid climate match the plant’s requirements. He added that reduced farming during past conflicts left abandoned fertile land that aided the plant’s establishment.

Authorities are conducting a campaign that includes biological control, pesticide application and public awareness efforts. Elhagarey stated that the plant retains the capacity for further geographic expansion, particularly in warm zones it has not yet reached.