Curators Corner – Brugmansia arborea
Commonly known as Angel’s Trumpet, Brugmansia arborea is a shrub to small tree that grows predominantly in the montane tropical biome. While it is cultivated contemporarily for ornamental purposes, Brugmansia arborea has been used in traditional medicine and ceremony to treat pain, inflammation, and numerous other ailments.
Profile
Scientific name: Brugmansia arborea
Family: Solanaceae
Environment: Hilly lowland and montane mixed forest
Bloom: March
Plant type: Shrub to tree
Uses: Ornamental, Indigenous Medicine
Location: San Francisco Botanical Garden
Brugmansia arborea is prized for its fragrant flowers that are roughly 4-7in. long, white or cream colored, and (as the common name would suggest) shaped like a trumpet.
Commonly known as Angel’s Trumpet, Brugmansia arborea is a shrub to small tree that grows predominantly in the montane tropical biome. Categorized as Extinct in the Wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are no records of wild B. arborea in-situ or cultivated from wild-collected material. Historically, B. arborea spanned across dry valleys throughout high altitudes (6,500 ft. to 9,750 ft.) of the Andes in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Today, it survives only in cultivation.
Grown widely as a large ornamental shrub or small tree throughout gardens in North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, Brugmansia arborea is prized for its fragrant flowers that are roughly 4-7in. long, white or cream colored, and (as the common name would suggest) shaped like a trumpet. B. arborea has the shortest flowers of all Brugmansia species and blooms continuously, rather than in bursts. Often confused for Datura, a good rule of thumb to differentiate the two is by the direction of their flower positions: Datura flowers face upward and open toward the sky, Brugmansia flowers hang downward and nod toward the ground.
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea)
Brugmansia arborea is primarily pollinated by moths, which are drawn to the pale color, strong evening fragrance, tubular shape, and deeply hidden nectar of its flowers. The correlation between floral traits and pollinator behavior exemplifies the concept of ‘pollinator syndromes’ and highlights co-evolution between B. arborea and its moth pollinators. The Andes of South America is an incredible biodiversity hotspot and home not only to B. arborea, but to thousands of unique moth species. With its consistent bloom, B. arborea likely supported numerous moth populations prior to its extinction in the wild.
While it is cultivated contemporarily for ornamental purposes, Brugmansia arborea has been used in traditional medicine and ceremony to treat pain, inflammation, and numerous other ailments; western science supports its efficacy. The greatest threat to B. arborea, unfortunately, is the declining number of indigenous healers who possess the expertise to use it safely. Superstitions have developed in response to the fear that surrounds B. arborea’s toxicity and the care required in its administration.
Gardens of Golden Gate Park has four Brugmansia arborea in its collection at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Accession 2008-0567*A in bed 49I is currently blooming, this accession was grown from seed donated to SFBG by volunteer Ilie Gaceau in 2006.
Credit for photos: Royal Jenkins
Written by Royal Jenkins
