Angel's Trumpet
Brugmansia
Family: Solanaceae · Also called Brugmansia, Trumpet Flower, Floripondio, Methysticodendron, Elisia, Pseudodatura
Heady & Exotic · Summer–Autumn bloomer
Angel's trumpet is one of the most dramatic and dangerous flowers in cultivation, enormous pendant trumpets up to 20 inches long, hanging in clusters from a small tree, releasing a sweet, narcotic fragrance that intensifies powerfully after dark. The entire plant is lethally toxic, containing scopolamine and other tropane alkaloids.
beauty, danger, otherworldliness
In the Victorian language of flowers, angel's trumpet means “Seductive danger”. Indigenous peoples of South America used brugmansia in shamanic rituals for its powerful hallucinogenic properties, all parts contain tropane alkaloids. The plant is functionally extinct in the wild; every specimen alive today exists because of human cultivation. Despite its toxicity, it's widely grown as an ornamental for its spectacular hanging trumpets.
Did You Know?
Angel's trumpet is considered extinct in the wild, no confirmed wild populations exist. Every plant alive today was propagated by humans. The fragrance is powerful enough to cause dizziness and headaches in enclosed spaces. Despite this, it remains one of the most popular tropical ornamentals worldwide.
Cloud forests and mountain valleys of the Andes, from Colombia to Chile
Angel's Trumpet is native to South America. It naturally grows in cloud forests and mountain valleys of the andes, from colombia to chile.
Scent Profile
“A dangerously sweet, narcotic fragrance that intensifies dramatically at night, beautiful but literally intoxicating, from a plant that is toxic in every part.”
Quick Reference
- Scientific NameBrugmansia
- FamilySolanaceae
- Native ToSouth America
- Bloom SeasonSummer–Autumn
- LifespanPerennial
Cultural Significance
Indigenous peoples of South America used brugmansia in shamanic rituals for its powerful hallucinogenic properties, all parts contain tropane alkaloids. The plant is functionally extinct in the wild; every specimen alive today exists because of human cultivation. Despite its toxicity, it's widely grown as an ornamental for its spectacular hanging trumpets.