Datura is a genus of herb and shrub plants belonging to the Solanaceae. Originally from the American continent, different species now grow throughout the globe. Some of them are now classified under the name Brugmansia; commonly called angel's trumpets, for the large (in some varieties up to 1 foot long) trumpet-shaped flowers.
All members of the family, under whichever name, contain the anticholinergic alkaloids hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and atropine. One annual species, Datura stramonium, or the thorn apple, so called for its spiked seed pods, was grown for its alkaloid content and used in medicine.
Datura was supposedly used in witchcraft to induce hallucinations. If one ingests the plant, one does not stop dreaming even when awake. Hallucinations caused by anticholinergics are extremely powerful in that they can create fully realistic three-dimensional objects that blend in perfectly with the person's view of the world.
Datura stramonium is also called jimsonweed. This name comes from the town of Jamestown, Virginia. British soldiers were accidentally served this unfamiliar native plant as food. They figured that if they boiled the plants, threw out the water, and reboiled them, that they would be safe to eat. The insurrection that they were sent to stop, the Whiskey Rebellion, is thought to have been more successful because so many were incapacitated for nearly a week. Datura wrightii, also called Sacred Datura or Western Jimsonweed, has similar effects.
The dose-response curve is very steep, so people who consume datura can easily get into the potentially dangerous zone. Datura is an anticholinergic, which may explain why the hallucinations are often called "daytime dreaming." In the 1990s and 2000s, the American media contained stories of teenagers and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura.
Both Brugmansia and Datura are fairly easily grown from seed. Soaking the seeds overnight in hand-hot water is often beneficial. Sow the seeds in a good soil mix, and barely cover them with soil. Mist the soil heavily, and cover the container with a clear plastic dome. (A sheet of clear plastic will work, but an actual dome is better. Place the seed tray in good light, and if bottom heat is available it will be helpful. Check often, to be certain that your soil doesn't dry out. If there's condensation on your dome, it's plenty wet, don't water again until this clears up, because too-wet seeds can rot or develop fungal diseases. Germination is often erratic, which is why a dome is better than a sheet of plastic. If you've used a dome, you can leave it in place until all your seeds have sprouted, but if you're using a sheet of plastic, you'll need to remove each seedling within a few days of its sprouting or the plastic will either crush it or burn it. (Leaves directly against plastic equals sunburn---fast!) Once your dome is off, keeping the air moving helps to reduce the chance of fungal diseases, and removing it for a little while now and then even while awaiting germination is good. Once your seedlings develop a couple pairs of true leaves, you should move them into larger pots, or into the ground if all danger of frost has passed (after hardening off for a few days, that is.) Brugmansias need large pots ASAP in order to grow to their fullest potential, but Daturas are more forgiving---a 15-centimeter pot will often do for a fairly large plant. An alternate method of is, after soaking the seeds overnight, folding them inside a few layers of paper toweling. Dampen the towel thoroughly, and place it inside a zip-loc bag. Place the bag in a bright, warm spot, and check the seeds every three days or so. As they sprout, move them (VERY CAREFULLY) into pots, leaving the little seed head sticking out. Cover with a humidity dome, and keep evenly moist until leaves form. This method gave me more seedlings in a shorter period of time than the directly-into-soil method did, but it IS more work.