Angel’s Trumpet
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea) is a large shrub or small tree in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), the same plant family as the potato, tomato, and tobacco. The species originates from the Andes of South America, where it grew in mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and northern Chile.
The plant’s most striking feature is its large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers, which can reach up to 17 centimetres in length. These spectacular flowers have given the plant its common name, Angel’s Trumpet.
The flowers release a strong fragrance in the evening and at night. The scent attracts large hawkmoths, which act as pollinators. The long, trumpet-shaped corolla, with nectar located deep at the base of the flower, is well suited to the hawkmoths’ long proboscises. Visitors to the Greenhouses in the morning, on days when Angel’s Trumpet is in bloom, will often notice its characteristic fragrance immediately.
For centuries, Angel’s Trumpet has been cultivated as an ornamental plant because of its impressive flowers. At the same time, it has played a role in South American traditions and ceremonies. All parts of the plant contain toxic alkaloids, including atropine and scopolamine, which affect the nervous system. These substances protect the plant from being eaten by herbivores, but they also make Angel’s Trumpet highly poisonous.
Among several South American peoples, Angel’s Trumpet was used in shamanic rituals and ceremonies, where it served to induce visions and facilitate contact with the spirit world.
Today, the species is considered extinct in the wild, as no confirmed natural populations are known to exist. However, the plant survives through cultivation in botanical gardens and private gardens around the world.
Fakta:
- Væksthusplacering: The Mountain Forest House
- Dansk navn: Engletrompet
- Latinsk navn: Brugmansia arborea
- Familie: Natskyggefamilien / Solanaceae
- Naturligt voksested: The Andes of South America