[5] Common names in the US include "sacred thorn-apple" or "hairy thornapple",[2] and sometimes "western Jimson weed"[4] because of its resemblance to Datura stramonium due to both species having toothed leaves.

Anglophone settlers in California often called it "Indian whiskey" because of its ritual intoxicating use by many tribes; the name "sacred datura" has the same origin.

Other common names include "Indian apple",[5] "California jimson weed" and "nightshade" (not to be confused with Solanum).

The flowers are the most striking feature, being sweetly fragrant white trumpets up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long, sometimes tinted purple, especially at the margin.

The seeds are borne in a spiny, globular capsule 3 to 4 cm in diameter, which opens when fully ripe.

[7] and NSW Key Datura wrightii is found in northern Mexico and the adjoining southwestern U. S. states, as far north as Eastern Washington, in open / disturbed land and along roadsides with well-drained (sandy) soils.

[2] All parts of Datura plants contain dangerous levels of anticholinergic tropane alkaloids and may be fatal if ingested by humans, livestock, or pets.

Datura wrightii is sacred to some Native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and rites of passage by Chumash, Tongva, and others.

This makes dosage estimation difficult and adds further risk to the administration of material that already has potentially lethal side effects.

These compounds also induce a profound mydriasis and suppress eye saccades, resulting in considerable degradation of visual acuity, often to the point of functional blindness.

[citation needed] The plant is an element of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 roman à clef novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

In part 2, chapter 5 of the book, a jimsonweed experience is recounted by the character Dr. Gonzo as described here: "Last Christmas somebody gave me a whole Jimson weed – the root must have weighed two pounds; enough for a year – but I ate the whole goddamn thing in about twenty minutes... Luckily, I vomited most of it right back up.

"[14] Due to the fact that Dr. Gonzo presumably lived in Los Angeles, California during this time, this encounter was likely also with the "western jimsonweed" species as well.