Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1227 Perspectives

Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura in the Old World and implications for a fi rst millennium transfer from the New World

R GEETA* and WALEED GHARAIBEH† Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5245, USA †Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Science and Arts, Jordan University of Science and Technology, PO Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan *Corresponding author (Email, [email protected])

Datura (Solanaceae) is a small genus of plants that, for long, was thought to occur naturally in both the New and Old Worlds. However, recent studies indicate that all species in the genus originated in the Americas. This fi nding has prompted the conclusion that no species of Datura could have been present in the Old World prior to its introduction there by Europeans in the early 16th century CE. Further, the textual evidence traditionally cited in support of a pre- Columbian Old World presence of Datura species is suggested to be due to the misreading of classical Greek and Arabic sources. As a result, botanists generally accept the opinion that Datura species were transferred into the Old World in the post-Columbian period. While the taxonomic and geographic evidence for a New World origin for all the Datura species appears to be well supported, the assertion that Datura species were not known in the Old World prior to the 16th century is based on a limited examination of the pre-Columbian non-Anglo sources. We draw on old Arabic and Indic1 texts and southern Indian iconographic representations to show that there is conclusive evidence for the pre-Columbian presence of at least one species of Datura in the Old World. Given the systematic evidence for a New World origin of the genus, the most plausible explanation for this presence is a relatively recent but pre-Columbian (probably fi rst millennium CE) transfer of at least one Datura species, D. metel, into the Old World. Because D. metel is a domesticated species with a disjunct distribution, this might represent an instance of human-mediated transport from the New World to the Old World, as in the case of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas).

[Geeta R and Gharaibeh W 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura in the Old World and implications for a fi rst millennium transfer from the New World; J. Biosci. 32 1227–1244 ]

1. Introduction However, recent taxonomic studies strongly suggest that all Datura species originated and diversifi ed in the New Datura, a genus of 10–12 species, has long drawn interest World (e.g. Symon 1991). Thus, there is a confl ict between for its medicinal and hallucinogenic properties (Avery et al the old historical (mostly textual) evidence cited for a pre- 1959). Since the European explorations in the Americas in Columbian presence of some Datura species in the Old the 16th century, and until recently, the genus was thought to World and the new taxonomic evidence for a New World occur “naturally” in both New and Old Worlds. Cultural and origin for all Datura species. Three different hypotheses historical evidence from both regions and archaeological may be proposed regarding the distribution of Datura, evidence from North America supported this view (e.g. Orta each of which has different degrees of support depending 1891; Dymock et al 1891; Safford 1922; Hernandez 1959; on how this confl ict between the two types of evidence is Schultes 1969; Litzinger 1981; Boyd and Dering 1996). resolved.

Keywords. al-Ghafi qi; chola bronze; dhattura; gauz mathil; pre-Columbian; unmattam

1We use this term to indicate Sanskrit (an Indo-European language) as well as Tamil (a Dravidian language). http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007, 1227–1244, © IndianJ. Biosci.Academy 32(7), of SciencesDecember 20071227 1228 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh

(i) Datura is primarily a New World taxon, but at least pre-Columbian presence of at least one Datura species some species originated and diversifi ed in the Old World. in the Old World. This evidence, in combination with the This (traditional) hypothesis requires the acceptance of the taxonomic evidence for a New World origin for the genus, historical evidence for a pre-Columbian Old World presence supports the hypothesis for a pre-Columbian transfer of the of Datura, but rejection of the new taxonomic evidence for a Datura species to the Old World (hypothesis 3). New World origin for all of the species in the genus. To present the case for hypothesis 3 we will: (i) briefl y (ii) Datura originated and diversifi ed exclusively in the review the taxonomic evidence for a New World origin New World and some species were introduced into the for the genus Datura and its species, (ii) appraise the Old World in post-Columbian times. This (currently arguments of Symon and Haegi (1991) against Old World accepted) hypothesis requires the acceptance of the pre-Columbian textual records, (iii) examine the records of new taxonomic evidence for a New World origin for Datura in pre-Columbian Old World sources, namely, Arabic Datura, but rejection of the historical evidence for a and Indic texts and southern Indian sculpture. We establish pre-Columbian Old World Datura presence. that the plants mentioned under various synonyms in these (iii) Datura originated and diversifi ed in the New World, texts are Datura species by (i) pointing to unmistakable, but at least one species dispersed into the Old World detailed descriptions of the plants contained in some of (Asia) in pre-Columbian times. This hypothesis the texts and tracing the continuity of names and usage, represents the simplest explanation for both the (ii) presenting recognizable pre-Columbian iconographic taxonomic and historical data. representations of Datura fl owers from southern India associated with the religious use of unmattam (the Tamil Hypothesis 1 is currently untenable because we have no word for dhattUra), and (iii) reviewing related South Asian scientifi c basis on which to reject the modern taxonomic plant genera to demonstrate the very low probability that evidence (reviewed below). Hypothesis 3 postulates a pre- these pre-Columbian records actually refer to a different Columbian dispersal of a New World plant into the Old genus of plants that has, since then, been replaced by Datura World, an extraordinary event that demands strong positive species in traditional medicine and religious practice. evidence for an early presence of Datura in the Old World. Without this kind of evidence, hypothesis 2 would be the simplest hypothesis that is consistent with the taxonomic 2. Taxonomic and geographic evidence for a new data. Therefore, the view that species of Datura are “...native world origin of Datura only to the Americas from where they were introduced to the Old World by Europeans at an early date” (Symon and Haegi Datura (fi gure 1) is a genus in the family Solanaceae 1991) is generally accepted by most botanists today (e.g. comprised of 10–12 species. It is described as follows: Mabberley 1993; Knapp 2007). “Shrubs or annual or perennial herbs; pubescence of simple What is the basis for disregarding the historical evidence sometimes glandular hairs. Leaves petiolate; leaf blade for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura in the Old World? simple, entire or sinuate-dentate. Infl orescences solitary Symon and Haegi (1991) suggest that herbalists in the fl owers in leaf axils or in branch forks; peduncle, bracts, 16th century CE misinterpreted the classical treatment and bracteoles absent. Flowers actinomorphic, large. of Dioscorides, and mistakenly identifi ed his Struchnon Pedicel often stout. Calyx long tubular or cylindric, often manicon (an Old World plant), with a newly introduced, circumscissile near base. Corolla elongated, funnelform; but unrelated, American taxon (later named Datura by lobes sometimes cuspidate. Anthers mostly elongated, Linnaeus). Symon and Haegi (1991) also suggest that the dehiscing longitudinally, included. Ovary 2-4-locular. same American plant was similarly mistakenly equated Fruit a dry capsule, 4-valved or irregularly dehiscent, with ‘stramonia’, a plant mentioned in Medieval European prickly or unarmed, often subtended by remnants of sources. These authors also dismiss the identifi cation persistent calyx. Seeds numerous, laterally compressed; of Datura with dhattUra2, a narcotic, medicinal plant of embryo curved.” (Flora of China 2007). The so-called religious signifi cance, known since ancient times in South tree daturas of South America form a closely related sister Asia (e.g. Deb 1979). According to Symon and Haegi group to Datura sensu stricto and are re-recognized as (1991), these cases of mis-identifi cation gave the incorrect Brugmannsia (Hammer et al 1983). Datura species are impression that the American plant was mentioned in pre- classifi ed into three sections: Datura (three species including Columbian Old World texts when, in fact, those texts refer D. stramonium Linn. and D. ferox Linn.; annual herbs with to different, unrelated plants. However, we will make the erect, spiny capsules with regular dehiscence), Ceratocaulis case that there indeed exists conclusive evidence for the (one species; annual herbs with pendant, spineless capsules with regular dehiscence, and Dutra (6-8 species including 2We have not used diacritics in presenting Sanskrit, Tamil or D. inoxia Mill. and D. metel Linn.; perennial herbs with Arabic words for reasons of convenience and accessibility. pendant, spiny capsules with regular or irregular dehiscence)

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1229

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e)

(f) (g)

Figure 1. Datura metel, India [(a-f) Chennai; (g) Rishikesh]. (a) Plant 1m tall (may grow up to 2 m). (b) Flowers 15 cm long, with clearly demarcated veins on outer surface of elongate calyx and corolla. (c) Double fl ower (compare with 2b,c).(http://www.hear.org/Pier/images/ dametp1.jpg, Charles Darwin Research Station, Galapagos, with permission) (d) After fertilization the corolla dries up and eventually drops; the base of the calyx remains green and persists, while the upper part dries and drops off (circumscissile, left). (e) Developing green fruit with persistent lower calyx. (f) Dehiscent, mature fruit with brown pericarp and white, spongy mesocarp; seeds with white, sweet- tasting elaiosome. (g) Dried reniform seeds, 4 mm long.

(Hammer et al 1983). America are believed to have been introduced there in pre- The species diversity of Datura is centered on Mexico and Columbian times (Hunziker 1979; Nee 1991; Wolters 1999). southwestern United States in North America (Hammer et al Traditionally, three species of Datura, were thought to occur 1983; Mace et al 1999; Jiao et al 2002). The three species of naturally in the Old World: D. metel in South and West Asia, Datura (D. inoxia, D. metel and D. ferox) that occur in South D. stramonium in Eurasia and D. ferox in East Asia, thus

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1230 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh implicitly assuming their origin and diversifi cation in that manicon — the plant that was equated with Datura in the part of the world (e.g. Satina and Avery 1959). Until quite 16th century CE — the authors concluded that there is no recently, D. stramonium and D. ferox were considered to justifi cation for this equation, and that there is no reason be of Asian origin (e.g. Satina and Avery 1959). Since the to think that Dioscorides (or other Greeks) knew anything 1950’s, however, there has been increasing acceptance that about Datura in the 1st century Before the Common Era D. stramonium is a native of tropical America (Muenscher (BCE). This conclusion seems to be well founded, but 1955; Munz and Keck 1959, 1968; Mack and Erneberg 2002). does not necessarily support the authors’ larger argument D. ferox was assigned to China even in the 1960’s (e.g. Munz regarding the pre-Columbian presence of Datura in the Old and Keck 1968), but is now thought to be closely related, World. or equivalent, to the Mexican D. quercifolia and should no Ibn Sina (Latinized Avicenna) is generally credited as the longer be considered a distinct, Asian species (Hammer et al source of information for the plant called Datura in the west 1983; Symon and Haegi 1991; Jiao et al 2002). Establishing (Avery 1959). However, according to Symon and Haegi the place of origin for D. metel is problematic because it is a (1991), Ibn Sina wrote no description that would allow cultigen whose wild forms are unknown. Phenetic analyses identifi cation of the plant. Therefore, they conclude, there is of morphological features and allozyme variation suggest no basis for the hypothesis that Datura existed in Europe or that D. inoxia (a Mexican species) and D. metel are very Asia in pre-Columbian times. The authors themselves state similar (Cavazos et al 2000; Jiao et al 2002). This similarity that they did not examine any South or East Asian sources is taken to indicate that D. metel was domesticated from D. and that, of the Arabic sources, they only examined Ibn Sina inoxia in eastern Mesoamerica or in the Caribbean islands in an old (1473) translation, namely, Serapion. The limited (Symon and Haegi 1991; Cavazos et al 2000). nature of this aspect of the study must, in turn, limit the From the above, it is apparent that the three species robustness of the authors’ conclusions regarding the pre- of Datura thought to have an ancient, Old World Columbian presence of Datura in the Old World. origin, being drawn from different sections of the In the following section, we will draw together evidence genus are not likely to represent the results of the from Arabic and Indic texts and southern Indian Hindu diversifi cation of a single evolutionary lineage within iconography and come to the conclusion that there is Asia. Moreover, each species is either most closely suffi ciently strong evidence to point to a pre-Columbian related to an American species (D. ferox, D. metel) or is presence of Datura in the Old World. itself known to be an American species (D. stramonium). D. metel, the species best identifi ed with pre-Columbian Old 4. Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian Old World World records of Datura (see below), has a good candidate presence of Datura for a wild ancestor in America (i.e. D. inoxia), but none in the Old World. 4.1 Arabic sources from West Asia and the Mediterranean In conclusion, the taxonomic and geographic evidence suggests that hypothesis 1 is improbable. It requires a A number of Arabic documents3, dating from the 9th to scenario in which a Datura species made its way to Asia, in 14th century CE, strongly suggest that at least one species time to evolve into the (unknown) wild ancestor of D. metel, of Datura, known as gawz mathil, identifi ed from plant which went extinct and left behind only the cultigen that descriptions and biotic effects, was known in the region occurs today in Asia and the world over, including Mexico ranging from Central Asia to the Iberian Peninsula by the and the Caribbean. Furthermore, this scenario ignores the 12th century CE (also see table 1). close similarities between D. metel and its putative closest (American) relative, D. inoxia. 4.2 Morphology 3. The case for an exclusively post-Columbian transfer A detailed description of the plant was given by the 12th of Datura to the Old World century Andalusian doctor Ahmad ibn Muhammad al- Ghafi qi in kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada (the book of simple As mentioned above, three species of Datura were drugs). This work has survived in a condensed version historically considered to occur naturally in the Old World: attributed to Gregorious Abu’l-Farag ibn al-‘Ibri and in the D. stramonium (Eurasia), D. metel, (South and West Asia) form of extensive quotations in Ibn al-Baytar’s Al-Jami’ and D. ferox (China). Symon and Haegi (1991) evaluated historical botanical records in Europe and concluded that the three species must have been introduced to the Old World 3 Following the convention in the linguistic literature, the adjective by Europeans after Columbus’ return in 1493 (hypothesis “Arabic” is used in this paper to denote the language of the works 2). Having examined Dioscorides’ description of Struchnon and not the ethnicity of their authors.

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1231

Table 1. Arabic sources for descriptions of gawz mathel discussed in the text. Andalusia denotes the parts of the Iberian peninsula under Muslim rule during the Middle Ages; the Levant includes the East Mediterranean between the sea and the Syrian Desert, from the Taurus Mountains to the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula; Mesopotamia is the area between the Tigris and Euphrates, corresponding to modern Iraq and parts of Syria and Turkey; Transoxiana, literally ‘beyond the Oxus (river)’, denotes an area corresponding largely to modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, as well as portions of neighboring countries. Ibn al-Baytar quotes Al-Ghafi qi’s entire entry on gawz mathel (as survived in Ibn al-‘Ibri’s abridgment), however he disagrees with al-Ghafi qi on the attribution of the quote al-Ghafi qi ascribes to ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali. Ibn al-Baytar instead credits the fi rst part of the quotation to Ibn al-Bitriq and the second part to ‘Isa ibn Masa. The original works of all three authors – Ibn al-Bitriq, Ibn Masa, and ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali – are lost, so we cannot determine which, if any, was the original source. Nonetheless, both al-Ghafi qi and Ibn al-Baytar attribute the quote to a Mesopotamian Arabic source from the late 8th or the 9th century Name Location Date Quotation or Comment Dawuud al-Antaki The Levant and Egypt d. 1599 “Gawz mathil …in Egypt it is called al-datura.” “...it has been stated that it is like citron seeds; what we have seen is something like henbane (seeds), white and black” Ibn al-Baytar Andalusia, North Africa and d. 1248 “…some is cultivated in fi elds in the port of Damietta (in Egypt Egypt).” Quotes Ibn al-Bitriq, ‘Isa ibn Masa and al-Ghafi qi and many others Gregorious Abu’l-Farag Mesopotamia and the Levant 1226–1286 An abridgement of al-Ghafi qi ibn al-‘Ibri (Bar Hebraeus) Ahmad ibn Muhammad Andalusia 12 C CE A detailed and original description of the whole plant (see al-Ghafi qi text) Quotes ‘Isa ibn ’Ali and al-Razi Ibn al-Dahabi Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, 11 C CE “a rough (surfaced) fruit the size of a walnut, within it are the Levant and Andalusia seeds like those of citron” Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Transoxiana and Persia 981–1037 “…resembles a walnut with short thick spines; it resembles the emetic nut and its seed is like that of the citron” Al-Biruni Persia, Transoxiana and India 973–1051 “Gawz methel, ‘teh tura’ in Hindi;” Quotes Ibn al-Bitriq: “…gawz matha resembles the emetic nut and its grains are like citron grains; its shell is rough, its taste palatable and rich”; quotes al-Razi (see below) Al-Razi (Rhazes) Persia and Mesopotamia 865–925 As quoted in al-Ghafi qi and Ibn al-Baytar: “…narcotic and sometimes fatal; it causes nausea, vomiting and coma; as quoted in al-Biruni: [the fruit] is the size of gallnut ….. Its fl owers are like those of the ‘seed of indigo’ but larger and white.” ‘Isa Ibn ‘Ali Mesopotamia 9 C CE As quoted in al-Ghafi qi: “…resembles the emetic nut, seeds like mandrake seeds shell rough, taste palatable, rich. It is cold in the fourth degree and one carat in grape wine causes deep intoxication, and one mithqal kills” Ibn al-Bitriq Mesopotamia d. fi rst third As quoted in Ibn al-Baytar: 9 C CE “…resembles the emetic nut, seeds like mandrake seeds shell rough, taste palatable, rich” ‘Isa ibn Masa Mesopotamia 9 C CE? As quoted in Ibn al-Baytar: “…it is cold in the fourth degree and one carat in grape wine causes deep intoxication, and one mithqal kills” li-mufradat al-adwiya wa al-aghdhiyah (the compendium our comments and suggestions for alternative translations of simple drugs and foods; Ibn al-Baytar, n.d.; al-Khattabi, are in square brackets: “It is also called gawz mathim and 1990). Meyerhof and Sobhy (1933) edited and translated Ibn al-‘Ibri’s abridged version of al-Ghafi qi relying, for the 4 Literally, the mathil nut. Gawz (or jawz) in Arabic (possibly of most part, on a manuscript dated 1285. The following is Persian origin according to Ibn Al-Dhahabi, 1996) is simply ‘nut’ Meyerhof and Sobhy’s (1933) translation of the entry “gawz and when used alone without a qualifi cation it usually denotes mathil4” in this work. Their remarks are in parentheses, and walnut.

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1232 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh gawz matha, and is known to us (in Spain) as “the soporifi c Symon and Haegi (1991) state that “Early Latin plant” (shagarat [tree] al-murqid [that which, when drunk, translations of Avicenna’s work (e.g. Serapion 1473), causes him who drank it to sleep, Ibn Manzur 1981], [or] al- predating Columbus’s fi rst voyage, indicate a recipe for a muraqqad [he who was put to sleep5]). It is a shrub, reaching drug Nux methel rather than any identifi able description of about the height of a sitting man. Its leaves are like small a plant species. The attribution of Datura to Avicenna, as to eggplant leaves except that they are more solid [sturdier] and Dioscorides, has no factual basis whatsoever.” We cannot much more smooth. It has large white fl owers, not quite a comment on the Latin translations of Ibn Sina (Avicenna); span long, resembling Syrian trumpets (abwaq). It is kept in however, we have found the following description of gawz long green calyces (perianths) with long stalks. It has a fruit mathil in a 1593 (Arabic) print of Ibn Sina’s Canon (kitab like a walnut with a rough and almost thorny bark [with a al-qanun; early 11th century): “…a tranquilizing poison, rough shell, as if thorny]; in its interior there are grains like which resembles a walnut (gawz) with short thick spines; those of mandrake (luffah).” it resembles gawz al qayy’ [=nux vomica, Strychnos nux- The combination of long, white, trumpet-like fl owers vomica] and its seed is like that of the utruj [=citron, Citrus and thorny fruit unmistakably points to Datura. The other medica]” (Ibn Sina 1593, p. 127; Ibn Sina 1980, p. 268 and descriptors support this identifi cation and match all three on-line reproductions of the Canon (e.g., in www.alwaraq.net supposed Asian species: shrubby habit and plant height (D. and www.al-eman.com/islamlib). metel, D. stramonium, and D. ferox are herbs that, today, A possible reason for Symon and Haegi’s (1991) failure range in height between 0.5 and 2 meters); eggplant-like to fi nd the description we quote above in the translation they leaves (the leaves of the three species look similar to those examined might be that Ibn Sina mentions gawz mathil in of eggplant); long calyces (Datura species have long green two places in the Canon. The entry that the authors refer to calyces with long stalks) and mandrake-like seeds (species of is probably the one in the section on poisons (Ibn Sina 1593, both Datura and Mandragora [mandrake] have compressed, 4th book, 6th art, p. 156) that is a description of the plant’s reniform seeds; fi gure 1; Flora of China 2007). medicinal effects and how to counter them, while the one Gawz mathil (and synonyms) are mentioned in several we quote above is in the section on simple drugs (Ibn Sina, contexts in the Arabic literature that predates al-Ghafi qi. 1593, 2nd book, p. 127). These citations are not as defi nitive as al-Ghafi qi’s Ibn Sina’s description of the spiny fruit is more detailed description; however, they demonstrate a continuity of than that of his predecessors, but it is puzzling that he likens knowledge over a number of centuries and across a large the seeds to citron instead of the more appropriate mandrake region of the Old World (see table 1). seeds. The same comparison to citron seeds is made by Al-Ghafi qi himself ends his entry on gawz mathil by two of Ibn Sina’s acquaintances, Al-Biruni (1973) and Ibn quoting two earlier Arabic sources. The fi rst is a (lost) al-Dhahabi (1996). Al-Biruni quotes Ibn al-Bitriq (lost pharmacological treatise by ‘Isa Ibn ‘Ali from which al- work) as saying: “gawz matha resembles the emetic Ghafi qi quotes as follows: “gawz matha resembles the emetic nut (gawz al-qayy’) and its grains [seeds] are like citron nut (gawz al-qayy’) and its grains [seeds] are like mandrake grains [seeds]; its bark [shell] is rough, its taste palatable 6 grains [seeds]; its bark [shell] is rough, its taste palatable and rich,” i.e. the same quotation that Ibn al-Baytar attributes and rich [dassim]. It is cold in the fourth degree and one to Ibn al-Bitriq except that ‘citron seeds’ are substituted carat of it taken in grape wine causes deep intoxication, and for ‘mandrake seeds’. Ibn al-Dhahabi similarly states one mithqal kills” (Meyerhof and Sobhy 1933; as before, “gawz mathil: a rough (surfaced) fruit the size of a their comments are in parentheses, ours in square brackets). walnut, within it are seeds like those of citron.” Al-Antaki The second quote is from al-Razi who says that gawz al a 16th century Levantine botanist who gave a detailed mathil is “narcotic [mukhadder] and sometimes fatal; it description of gawz mathil seems puzzled by these earlier causes nausea, vomiting and coma [literally ‘it silences’]” comparisons to citron seeds: “…it has been stated that (Meyerhof and Sobhy 1933; same system of annotation as it is like citron seeds; what we have seen is something above). like henbane (seeds), white and black.” (al-Antaki 1996). Henbane (Hyoscyamus) has reniform or discoid seeds (Dey 5 The two words are homographs in Arabic script in the absence of 1980; Flora of China 2007). diacritics Furthermore, it is not clear as to what aspect of gawz mathil’s morphology or biotic effect is being compared to 6 Meyerhof and Sobhy, not unreasonably, translated palatable for ‘adhb; however, the diacritics denoting the short vowels are com- gawz al-qayy’ [=nux vomica] by al-Biruni (following Ibn monly missing from Arabic manuscripts and it is possible that al-Bitriq and Ibn al-Baytar), al-Ghafi qi (following to ‘Isa ibn the word in question is ‘adheb, an adjective denoting baseness or ‘Ali), and Ibn Sina. Even al-Antaki, who appears to have impurity, especially used of water contaminated with algal growth been closely familiar with gawz mathil, states in his entry on (Ibn Manzur, 1981). gawz al-qayy’ that it is close to (yuqaareb) gawz mathil.

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1233

The issues with citron seeds and gawz al-qayy’ and biological effects described are largely consistent, notwithstanding, al-Biruni’s (1973) entry on gawz mathil starting with the earliest sources in the 9th century and contains two items of interest. First, al-Biruni, who visited continuing until the 16th century. A composite summary is India and wrote extensively about it, positively identifi es as follows: a carat to a daneq (~0.2-0.5 grams) intoxicates; gawz mathil with dhattUra, stating that gawz mathil is up to half a dirahm (~1.6 grams) intoxicates, tranquilizes, known as “teh tura” in Hindi. Second, al-Biruni (1973)7 and might kill the weak; a mithqal (~4.6 grams), or perhaps ascribes the following description of gawz mathil to Al- as low as a dirham (~3.2 grams), is lethal. This consistency Razi: “[the fruit] is the size of gallnut (‘Afs) not fully round of dosages suggests that all these authors were referring to and not as weighty as gallnut, and it is easily breakable the same plant. (brittle). The white of which (abyadhuhu) is dusty or dusty- colored (aghbar) pleasant smelling, and very sharp in taste. Its fl owers are like those of the ‘seed of indigo’ (hab el-neel) 4.4 Chronology and geography of the movement of but larger and white.” This description indicates that the gawz mathil mathil nut, botanically a capsule, is different from the more familiar, hard nuts in being light in weight and brittle; the It was not until the 12th century that the Andalusian al- phrase “the white of which” possibly refers to the spongy Ghafi qi provided the fi rst description in Arabic of the gawz white mesocarp (fi gure 1). Furthermore, this description mathil plant and its green parts. Most of the early Arabic contains the earliest description of the fl ower of gawz mathil sources – all of which are from the eastern part of the Islamic in Arabic. The plant, hab el-neel, is described by al-Biruni world – refer only to the fruit and seeds of gawz mathil or in its own entry as follows: “sarneelan, and in a [different] to their bioactivity. This fact seems to have convinced copy [manuscript] neel fi lfi l, and it is also called Indian Meyerhof and Sobhy (1933) that the Arabs in the Middle qurtum [Carthamus tinctorius]. It is a black seed, the best Ages only knew Datura in the form of fruits (thorn-apples) of which are weighty and smooth, and the tree (vine) of imported from India and Persia. We examine this scenario which wraps around trees in the manner of the bindweed here in the light of the following observations. and extends [in growth]. It has grayish black (akhab) fl owers First, many of the early Arabic language accounts were similar in appearance to those of bindweed; they shrivel written by Persians and Transoxianians (table 1: al-Razi, whenever the sun shines on them. The people of Baghdad Ibn Sina, al-Biruni) or people who traveled, worked and call it “the lover’s tear’.” We believe that the plant described studied in Persia (Ibn al-Dhahabi, ‘Ibn al-Bitriq, Ibn Masa here is “Nil Arabum”, or Ipomoea turbinata Lag. (Austin and ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali). None of these authors described the green 2000). Ipomoea turbinata has large, salver-form fl owers parts of gawz mathil and only al-Razi (quoted in al-Biruni) (Flora of China 2007). described the fl owers. If Datura grew at all in Persia or Other Arabic sources chronologically bridge gaps between Transoxiana during this period (9th to the 11th centuries), it the authors cited above, but their entries on gawz mathil seem appears that it was not common enough for it to be familiar to be derived from the ones already presented, or add little to even to renowned herbalists of the time. Among these early the descriptions (see Meyerhof and Sobhy 1933). Arabic sources only al-Biruni is known to have traveled extensively in northern India. Al-Biruni did not contribute an original description of gawz mathil; however, he was 4.3 Biotic effects the fi rst authority to identify gawz mathil with the Hindi name ‘teh tura’. Given that evidence from the Indic sources The biological effects of gawz mathil are repeatedly (see below) is conclusive in establishing the presence of mentioned in the Arabic sources, usually with a stress the Datura plant in India several centuries prior to the 9th on its intoxicant and fatal effects at low and high doses, century, this points to India as the source of the Datura fruit respectively (Ibn al-Bitriq, cited in al-Biruni; Ibn Masa, cited and seeds that were imported into West Asia and further west in Ibn al-Baytar; ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali cited in al-Ghafi qi; al-Razi during the fi rst centuries of Islam.8 cited in al-Ghafi qi and Ibn al-Baytar; al-Balisi cited in Ibn Second, al-Ghafi qi (12th century CE) states that gawz al-Baytar; Ibn Sina; Ibn al-Dhahabi; al-Antaki). The recipes mathil is also “known to us (in Andalusia) as ‘the soporifi c

8 It is puzzling that, apparently, al-Razi was familiar with fresh 7 Our translation of this and other entries from al-Biruni (1973) fol- material of Datura (see description of white fl owers, above), while lows some, but not all, of the suggestions of the editors and transla- al-Biruni was not. This is despite the fact that al-Biruni spent much tors of that volume. The transliteration of the original Arabic words time in the northern regions of the Punjab and the southern regions and phrases is given in parentheses and our explanatory remarks of Kashmir. Datura is likely to have been growing in Kashmir by are given in square brackets. the 8th century CE (see below).

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1234 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh tree’”. A century or so later, Ibn al-Baytar, a fellow sources’ entries for gawz mathil] actually implies that the Andalusian who traveled in North Africa, Egypt and West plant was not known in West Asia prior to the 7th century CE Asia, also remarked that gawz mathil was known as the (table 2). Moreover, the earliest Arabic sources through the soporifi c tree in Andalusia and North Africa. In a separate 8th century (mostly written by native Aramaic speakers who entry for “buqqum,” Ibn al-Baytar also states that it is a were familiar with both Syriac and Greek scholarly works) name used in Yemen for the tree of gawz mathil, and refers also appear to be silent on gawz mathil and other Datura the reader to that plant’s proper entry in his book. Moreover, synonyms (table 2). This strongly suggests that Datura was Ibn al-Baytar explicitly states that some gawz mathil was not known to Arabic, Syriac and Greek writers of the 8th cultivated in fi elds in the port of Damietta in Egypt. These century and earlier. statements, combined with Al-Ghafi qi’s detailed description The fi rst Arabic records of gawz mathil (starting in of the entire plant, suggest that Datura was growing in early 9th century: Ibn al-Bitriq; Ibn Masa; ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali; West Asia and the Mediterranean, probably by the 12th and Ibn Sina, etc) were strictly herbalist or medicinal, rather defi nitely by the fi rst half of the 13th century (that is, before than botanical works. Therefore, it might be argued that the end of the Middle Ages). Therefore, Meyerhof and the beginning of Arabic documentation during that period Sobhy’s (1933) proposition should be modifi ed as follows: might merely refl ect newly discovered uses for a native plant through the 11th century, the Islamic world, from Central rather than the introduction of an alien species. However, Asia to Iberia, knew Datura in the form of fruits, probably as mentioned earlier, these early records do not describe imported from India; subsequently, the plant itself became the green parts of the plant, implying that the plant did not known, presumably as an invasive or cultivated plant. then grow in West Asia or the East Mediterranean, and that Third, many of the important Greek language medical and gawz mathil fruits were imported from outside that region botanical authors in the early and middle 1st millennium CE – probably from India, where the plant is documented under were native to West Asia (including Asia Minor) or Egypt, a variety of names (dhattUra, unmattam, etc.) from earlier or at least traveled there extensively (table 2). In this context, periods (see below). Symon and Haegi’s (1991) conclusion that the “Greeks” We further note that the Arabic sources from the 9th to the did not know Datura [supported by the authoritative work 15th centuries emphasized the intoxicating, tranquilizing and Meyerhof and Sobhy (1933) and the total absence of the lethal effects of gawz mathil. By the 16th century, Dawud customary references to Greek literature in the Arabic al-Antaki mentions a number of medicinal benefi ts for this

Table 2. Greek and Arabic medical texts from the fi rst eight centuries CE. No references to Datura or any of its synonyms (e.g. gawz mathil, stramonia) are known from any such records. Many medical and botanical writers who wrote in Greek during this period were native to the East Mediterranean, including Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (roughly corresponding to modern day Turkey), or lived and traveled there extensively. Similarly, the writers in Arabic listed here lived and traveled in the East Mediterranean. Source: Meyerhof and Sobhy 1933 Writers Period Location Work Greek Dioscorides 1 C CE Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt Materia Medica and Greece Galen c. 129–216 Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt De Simplicium Medicamentorum and Italy Temperamentos et Facultatibus Oribasios c. 325–405 Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt Collectiones medicae: A medical and Mesopotamia encyclopedia including a section on simple drugs Paul of Aegina c. 625–690 Greece and Egypt Epitome of Medicine: Medical compendium including a book on simple drugs; mostly based on Galen and Oribasios Arabic Thiyaduq d. 708 book on remedies and a medical kunnash (pandect) Masargawaih fi rst half of the 8th century book on ailments and simple drugs ‘Isa ibn Hakam second half of the 8th century medical kunnash Bakhtishu’ ibn Gurgis end of the 8th century medical kunnash

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1235 plant. In addition to recommending the oral administration especially that of Nataraja, the dancing form of the god of gawz mathil seeds for treating insomnia and other and are clearly depicted in bronze fi gures from that period conditions, al-Antaki suggests that gawz mathil can be used (e.g. Staal 1975). In several fi gures, the unmattam fl ower is as the active component in an ointment to treat hydropsy, prominently displayed on the headdress of Nataraja (fi gure swellings, tumors, skin diseases, balding hair, chills, etc. 2). The fl owers depicted are unmistakable in having an This is consistent with an increased familiarity with the plant elongated tubular lower portion and a fl ared, trumpet-like as demonstrated by Al-Antaki’s detailed description (more upper portion, and are shown in the form of either single detailed than that of al-Ghafi qi in certain aspects) and his (fi gure 2a) or double to triple (fi gure 2b,c) fl owers. The comment that it had become commonly known as “datura” elongated calyx and corolla with clearly defi ned external in Egypt, where he resided (al-Antaki 1996). This pattern nervature (fi gure 2c) evoke the characteristics of Datura of diversifi cation of uses parallels what we note (below) fl owers as seen today (fi gure 1), and the double and triple from Indic sources, in which the earliest text refers to the fl owers suggest that it was a cultivated, horticultural variety intoxicating effect of dhattUra, while later texts discuss its (fi gure 1). A similar fl ower is also seen in the headdress of medical applications. the stone image of Maheswara, another form of Siva, from In summary, our reading of the textual sources suggests the 10th century CE (fi gure 2d). that the herbalists of West Asia and East Mediterranean That the bronze images depict unmattam may be became acquainted with Datura at around the 9th century. established from documents such as those related to the This was fi rst in the form of dried fruits and seeds, probably art of sculpture (silpaSAstra) and from religious songs imported from South Asia, and probably on account of and tracts. According to silpaSAstra, the prescribed signs its intoxicant effects. By the 12th century the plant itself (lakshaNA) of Nataraja’s headdress in sculpture include appeared in West Asia, North Africa, and Iberia, and this “…erukkampoo, unmattam and konrai” (Calotropis, Datura may have allowed the native herbalists of later centuries to and Cassia fi stula), in oral and written Tamil tradition (e.g. explore other medicinal applications. ~500 year-old palm-leaf manuscripts: Ganapathy Sthapathy, The nuanced aspects of this scenario are tentative; what Vettuvankeni, Tamil Nadu, India, pers. comm.). In the is clear, however, is that Datura fruit, seeds and drug, were tEvArams, Tamil songs that praise Siva, unmattam (and described in pre-Columbian Arabic sources. synonyms) is mentioned several times (TirujnAnasambanda 1988; TirunAvakkaracu 1992). These composers of 5. Sources from South Asia (Sanskrit and Tamil) these songs, saints such as TirujnAnasambanda and TirunAvakkaracu (Appar), sang about the unmattam fl owers that adorn Siva’s head and matted hair, along with other Records dating back to the 2nd–4th century CE and the fl owers such as konrai, erukku and tumbai (Cassia fi stula, 15th century CE indicate that at least one species of Datura, Calotropis sp. and Leucas sp.). The composers are believed (identifi ed from iconographic representations, the synonymy to have lived in the 7th century CE. of descriptive names, and uses in medicine and religion) was That unmattam (unmatta in Sanskrit) is the same as known in South Asia by the 4th century CE. This plant was dhattUra is seen from their synonymy in suSrutasamhita, known as dhattUra (and 70+ synonyms) in Sanskrit and a Sanskrit text that dates to at least the 6–7th century CE unmattam (and synonyms) in Tamil. (Sharma 1996; Wujastyk 2003). Earlier mentions of dhattUra are found in the Sanskrit texts arthaSAstra, a treatise on 5.1 Morphology: DhattUra (unmattam) in religious statecraft, and kAmasUtra, a treatise on social-sexuality, practice and iconography both dated to 2nd–4th century CE (Trautmann 1971; Puri 2002). In arthaSAstra, the chapter describing the duties of DhattUra is associated with the Hindu god, Siva. The the superintendent of liquor lists a range of ingredients, practice (apparently ancient) of consuming intoxicating including dhattUra, whose addition to liquor “renders it drinks and sweets that incorporate the leaves of dhattUra very pleasant” (Kautilya 1915). The continuity of references as well as offering fl owers (and the drinks and sweets) to to synonyms and plant properties allows us to infer that Siva continues in northern India today (e.g. Maharashtra an intoxicant plant, dhattUra=unmattam, with Datura-like state: Ranjit Indulkar, Kolhapur, pers. comm.). Known in fl owers, was known in South Asia by the 4th century CE. Tamil as unmattam (=mattam, Umattai), it is known to have This conclusion is further supported by synonyms and other been important in the worship of Siva in southern India references to dhattUra in Sanskrit texts that invoke features in the past, especially in the period between late 9th-13th of the fl owers and fruits and that, taken together, point to century CE, when the Chola kings ruled the Tamil part of Datura. southern India (e.g., Kaimal 1999; Staal 1975). At that time The sangitaratnAkara, a treatise on music and dance from unmattam fl owers became part of the iconography of Siva, the 13th century CE, contains a description of a trumpet

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1236 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 2. Unmattam (Datura) in the head-dress of Siva; 9th-10th century CE. (a) Vishapaharana (Acc. 226): Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu 9th century CE. Elongate, single* fl ower with fl ared upper part, on left side of head, viewed sideways. (b) Nataraja (Acc. 752/75): Kunniyur, Thiruvarur District; 12th century CE. Elongate, single* fl ower with clear veins on calyx and corolla, on left side, viewed sideways. (c) Nataraja (Acc. 236): Tiruvelangadu, Tiruvallur Dist., Tamil Nadu 11 C CE. Triple fl ower on right side** of head, viewed partially sideways. (d) Stone sculpture: Uma Maheswara Nolambas, Hemavati Anantpur Dist., Andhra Pradesh, 10th–11th C CE. Single* fl ower on left side of head, viewed sideways. All sculptures at the Government Museum, Chennai, India. *It is likely that the central structure in these fl owers is the inner of two whorls of corolla in the bud stage. Stamens in Datura are included and, therefore, not prominently visible when the fl ower is viewed from the side. **Invocations usually refer to dhattUra on the left side; this sculpture appears to depart from this tradition. Other images of Siva with Datura in the headdress may be viewed at http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/01/05/053/saiv9.htm (Somaskanda; Tiruvelangadu, Chittor District. 9th C CE), http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/01/05/053/saiv11.htm (Vishapaharana: Kilappudanur, Nannilam Taluk, Thanjavur District. Height 62 cm. About 9th century CE) and http://www.art-and- archaeology.com/india/thanjavur/rrm06.html (Siva 7th-8th century, Rajaraja Museum, Tanjavur).

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1237

Table 3. Summary of uses of dhattUra described in Sanskrit texts listed chronologically. The list suggests that dhattUra was fi rst used as an intoxicant (and aphrodisiac), and later as a medicine. See text for sources Sanskrit text Scope of text Earliest date Latest date Biotic effect described arthasAstra State-craft 2nd C CE 4th C CE Intoxicant KAmasUtra Social-sexuality and its 2nd C CE 4th C CE Intoxicant and regulation aphrodisiac carakasamhitA Medicine 2nd–3rd C CE 4th–5th C CE - suSrutasamhita Medicine (Surgery) 3rd C BCE - - Medicine (Poisons) - 5th–6th C CE Poison; cure for rabies AshtAngahrdaya Medicine - 5th–6th C CE Poison; cure for alopecia

(kAhaLA), whose bell (vadana) is said to be shaped like the relieve pain, skin diseases (as poultices) and to treat insanity dhattUra fl ower (Dick 1984; Sarngadeva 1943–1953). This (Sharma 1996; Sivarajan and Balachandran 1994; Warrier simile suggests that the above references in the 2nd to 6th et al 1994). We suggest that dhattUra is not mentioned century CE were to a plant, dhattUra, that had trumpet-shaped in carakasamhitA because the work primarily deals with fl owers. One of the names for dhattUra is kAhaLapuSpa, surgery (Sharma 1996; Wujastyk 2003). or trumpet-fl ower, a name that dates back to at least the 12th century CE (Sri Harsha 1965) and is also mentioned 5.3 Chronology of dhattUra/unmattam in rAjanighaNTu (Narahari 1933), dating to 1400 CE (Wujastyk 2003). In rAjanighaNTu dhattUra is discribed as As mentioned above, the earliest mention in Sanskrit of having white, yellow, blue, purple and red fl owers. A verse in the intoxicant, dhattUra, is in arthaSAstra and kAmasUtra, the SivastotrAvali by Utpaladeva (8th century, Kashmir): “… which are dated to the 4th century CE at the latest. The emitting the sweet fragrance of Siva (=dhattUra) fl owers…” medicinal uses of dhattUra came later, and may be dated (Bailly 1987), evokes Datura, which bears sweet-smelling, to at least the 6th century CE (table 3). This later date is night-blooming fl owers (Grant 1983; Raguso et al 2003). inferred as follows: the Ayurvedic text suSrutasamhita Finally, the synonyms of dhattUra, namely, kaNTaphala consists of several sections and it is believed that the earliest and chhidrAphala meaning thorny (kaNTa) and torn-apart sections, on surgery, were written by the 3rd century BCE, (chhidrA) fruit (phala) (Monier-Williams 1899: attributed while other sections, such as the one on poisons, were added to lexicographers, 12th century CE), suggest the spiny, later, possibly as late as the 5th or 6th century CE (Wujastyk irregularly dehiscing fruit of Datura (fi gure 1). 2003). AshtAngahrdaya is dated to around the year 600 CE (Wujastyk 2003). The carakasamhita may have originally 5.2 Biotic effects and medical applications been written in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, and redacted as late as the 4th or 5th century CE (Wujastyk 2003). Given As noted above, the earliest known effect of dhattUra was that dhattUra as an intoxicant is mentioned at least by the as an intoxicant, in the 4th century CE. Many synonyms, 4th century CE in arthaSAstra, the absence of dhattUra or including the earliest ones such as unmatta (= “disordered in synonyms from carakasamhita might indicate that its medical intellect”: Monier-Williams 1899), evoke this intoxicating application, carakasamhita’s domain, came later. This would effect of the plant. A couple of centuries later, dhattUra explain its absence from carakasamhita (latest redaction in is mentioned as a component of medicinal preparations 5th century CE) and its presence in suSrutasamhita (latest Ayurveda, an Indian school of medicine9. Two of three redaction in 6th century) and AshtAngahrdaya (7th century major Ayurvedic texts, suSrutasamhita and AshtAngahrdaya CE). This would also suggest a historical pattern of use (fi rst (but not the third carakasamhita), mention dhattUra (Sharma as intoxicant, later as medicine) similar to that indicated for 1996, Wujastyk 2003). Here, the fruits, seeds and leaves of gawz mathil by our analysis of Arabic sources. dhattUra are recommended as a remedy for rabies (Lele There are approximately 70 synonyms for dhattUra 1982; Sharma 1996). Subsequently, as seen from later pre- in Sanskrit (Monier-Williams 1899); this might suggest Columbian texts, the plant was incorporated in remedies to a signifi cant presence of the plant, perhaps over a long period of time. The continuity of references to dhattUra, its synonyms and usage in the Ayurvedic context from 6th 9 Unmattam is currently used in Siddha, a southern Indian school of century CE to the present (e.g. Warrier et al 1994) argues for medicine, but at present we are unable to comment on the historical the continuity of the plant itself. Starting in the 6th century aspects of this usage. CE, various lexicons (nighaNTu) in Tamil mention synonyms

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1238 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh such as unmattam, mattam, Umattam, and Umattai. The and could be possible candidates for the dhattUra of dates are inferred from references listed in AciriyanighaNTu old. However, Withania (asvagandhA) and Solanum (early 18th century CE). In this work the author refers to (kaNTakAri, kAkamAcI) were used in Ayurveda in early listings in earlier nighaNTus (Cokkalingam 1975). For times (suSrutasamhita: 6th century CE, see above). As instance, the author mentions divAkaranighaNTu, written such, neither Withania or Solanum is likely to have been by Divakaran under the patronage of King Cendan in the the original dhattUra. The medicinal applications of the 6th century CE; pingalanighaNTu by Pingala Munivar, 6th- two genera also differed from those of dhattUra: Withania 7th century CE; cUdamaNinighaNtu by Mandalapurudar, was used to treat consumption and asthma, while at least 874-914, and gayAranighaNTu by Gayadaramunivar, 15th two species of Solanum were used to treat a range of century CE. There appears to be no mention of unmattam symptoms including consumption, asthma, and to promote or its synonyms in the Tamil Sangam literature, which conception (Sharma 1996). The oldest Ayurvedic texts do dates back to approximately 2 to 3rd century CE (Kalyani not mention the use of dhattUra in asthma and bronchitis Venkataraman, Chennai, India, pers. comm.). (e.g. Dymock 1891; Sharma 1996); these solanaceous It is clear that these medicinal, religious and cultural plants could not have been confused with dhattUra on traditions date back to periods well before the 16th century that score. Furthermore, neither Withania nor Solanum has (contra Symon and Haegi 1991). The continuity of names intoxicating effects, and both differ from dhattUra of old and usage in Indic and subsequent Arabic texts suggests that and the genus Datura in possessing fl owers that are small the same plant, identifi ed as a species of Datura from the and campanulate (Withania) or rotate/stellate (Solanum) and latter texts, is referred to in both sets of sources (dhattUra fruit that are globose berries. There is no evidence that these [and synonyms including unmatta] in Sanskrit sources, taxa are confused with dhattUra in any context in medicinal, teh tura in Al-Biruni, datura in al-Antaki; unmattam [and religious, or cultural practice. synonyms] in Tamil sources, gawz mathim [and synonyms, Hyoscyamus (henbane) was introduced from West Asia equated with teh tura and datura] in Arabic sources). The into the Indian subcontinent and is mentioned fi rst in the 9th identifi cation of dhattUra and unmattam with Datura is century CE (vrndamAdhava: Sharma 1996). Hyoscyamus further supported by surviving pre-Columbian religious has one Sanskrit name, which, furthermore, points to artistic representations of unmattam (dhattUra) fl owers from its introduced nature: pArasIka yavAnI, or the ajwain, southern India. (Trachyspermum copticum) of pArasikas, people of Persia Large, trumpet-shaped fl owers are not common, and (Monier-Williams 1899). Atropa (e.g. deadly nightshade) narcotic, poisonous plants with trumpet-shaped fl owers, other grows in the western Himalayas, and Mandragora than Datura species, are generally not known in the South (mandrake) in the eastern Himalayas. There the plants are Asian context. However, to ensure that a pre-Columbian Old used as folk remedies, at least in modern times (Stewart World presence of Datura is the only possible explanation of 1869; Singh et al. 1996). However, Atropa and Mandragora our observations of dhattUra/unmattam in Indian literature are not mentioned in old Sanskrit lexicons, and neither taxon and art, we examine the (unlikely) possibility that there is used in Ayurveda at present (Monier-Williams 1899; might have been another non-Datura plant, whose habit and Warrier 1994; Sharma 1996). effect was similar to Datura and which went extinct and was Within Convolvulaceae, the genus Ipomoea (500 spp. in seamlessly replaced by Datura in the 16th century or later. the tropics and warm temperate regions: Mabberley 1993) We discuss the possibilities below. is one likely candidate for the Sanskrit dhattUra. Plants in this genus have large, funnel-form, bell-form or salver- 6. Candidates for dhattUra other than Datura in form fl owers that come in a range of colours. A few species South Asia may have occurred in ancient times in India and may have had applications in medicine. For instance, lakSmaNA is We consider candidates within Solanaceae and the closely said to cure sterility in women and is a rhizomatous plant related Convolvulaceae that occur in India, as both families with hairy stem and white fl owers. This does not match contain taxa that are used in Ayurveda. We also consider the description and effects of dhattUra/unmattam; it is other taxa with trumpet-shaped fl owers. identifi ed as I. marginata, which has salverform white Nine genera of the Solanaceae occur naturally in India. fl owers. Some Ipomoea species do have hallucino- Of these, Atropa, Hyoscyamus, Mandragora, Physochlaina, genic effects, e.g. the American species, I. violacea (Furst Scopolia, and Withania are distributed in Eurasia and 1976). North Africa, while Solanum, Lycium and Lycianthes have Other possible candidates may easily be ruled out subcosmopolitan, warm temperate, or tropical distributions – e.g. Stereospermum suaveolens (Bignoniaceae) has large (Deb 1979). The genera Atropa, Hyoscyamus, Mandragora, reddish, trumpet-shaped fl owers that are sweet-smelling Withania and Solanum are known to have biotic effects, (said to intoxicate bees) and are used as an aphrodisiac.

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1239

However, the fruit are long and smooth, unlike dhattUra. or thorny, walnut-like fruits containing mandrake-like seeds Indeed, the tree, called pAtali in Sanskrit, is sacred to with potent psychotropic properties was known to scholars the goddess Durga, Siva’s consort (Dymock et al 1891). from Central Asia to Iberia. The description matches the Narcissus has large, showy fl owers and bulbs with narcotic three Datura species which have been traditionally regarded properties; however, these fl owers are not trumpet like as native to Asia (D. metel, D. stramonium and D. ferox). and do not resemble the forms seen in the sculptures in The descriptions of the fruit allow us to narrow down fi gure 2, and the plants do not grow in the plains of India. the possibilities somewhat. The fruit has been described These facts make it an unlikely candidate for dhattUra. variously as “like a walnut with a rough shell, as if thorny” Thus, the morphology, distribution, usage, and history (al-Ghafi qi); “its shell is rough” (Ibn al-Bitriq and/or ‘Isa ibn associated with the other genera of Solanaceae, some ‘Ali); “a rough fruit” (Ibn al-Dhahabi); “a walnut with short Convolvulaceae and a few other possible candidates in India thick spines” (Ibn Sina). The last description best matches suggest that none of those taxa is likely to have been the the characteristics of the fruits of D. metel (see above), but it dhattUra of old, which was later replaced by Datura from is not conclusive. Thus, the Arabic sources cannot be taken the New World. to refer to a particular species of Datura. We conclude that, at least by the 4th century CE in India, The evidence from South Asia allows the identifi cation of a poisonous plant, dhattUra, was used as an intoxicant and dhattUra and unmattam with D. metel. The rAjanighaNTu, that, at least by the 6th century CE, it had made its way into a minor Ayurvedic work (1400 CE: Wujastyk 1999), medical applications that continue today. Combined with mentions different colours of dhattUra fl owers – white, blue, evidence from religious iconography dating back from the black (purple), red, yellow – of which the blue fl owered 9th to the 13th centuries, dhattUra is identifi ed as a plant with variety is considered to be the most effective (Narahari sweet-smelling, white, yellow, blue, purple or red, trumpet- 1933; Sivarajan and Balachandran 1994). Some of the Siva- shaped, often double, or triple fl owers and irregularly spiny Nataraja bronzes of the Chola period (fi gure 2b, c) show and irregularly dehiscing fruit. These descriptors point to double or triple fl owers. These features very clearly point Datura, and in particular to the domesticated species, D. to D. metel, a horticultural cultigen. The large size of the metel. fl owers depicted further supports this conclusion. Further, the synonym “torn-apart fruit” (chidrAphala) for dhattUra in Sanskrit may be taken to refer to the irregular dehiscence of 6.1 Identifi cation of dhattUra (unmattam) as D. metel (fi gure 1). Datura metel The combined evidence from Indic and Arabic sources Our analyses establish that at least one species of Datura thus suggests that the cultigen D. metel was the fi rst-known was present in the pre-Columbian Old World. Can we Datura species in South Asia (starting around the 4th century identify which species it is likely to have been? CE) and later on in West Asia and North Africa (starting As described above (“Systematic and Geographic in the 9th century). This historical evidence per se does evidence”), all species of Datura have large, trumpet- not preclude the co-occurrence of another Datura species shaped fl owers and simple, often sinuately-toothed leaves. (D. stramonium, or D. ferox), but recent taxonomic The fl owers of D. ferox and D. stramonium tend to be assessments rule out this possibility. In the absence of clear smaller (7–11cm) than those of D. metel (>11 cm). D. ferox, evidence to the contrary, the simplest explanation is that the D. stramonium and D. metel can be easily distinguished species recorded in the pre-Columbian sources is D. metel. from each other by the fruit (erect, with regular dehiscence in D. stramonium and D. ferox, the latter having large, stout 7. Discussion spines; nodding with irregular dehiscence in D. metel) and the seeds (black in D. stramonium and D. ferox; brown in D. The distribution of Datura has been interpreted in widely metel). D. metel has several characteristics that set it apart different ways by botanists in the recent past: from an from the other species and betray its domesticated nature: implicit acceptance of a disjunct distribution in America and the plants are glabrous; fl owers are of varied colours (white Asia, largely based on historical and cultural considerations to deep purple) and may be double or triple; the fruit varies (Satina and Avery 1959), to an explicit rejection of the from having short spines with thick bases to being knobbed possibility of a pre-Columbian Old World presence, largely with non-prickly tubercles, and the seeds tend to be retained based on taxonomic and evolutionary considerations (Symon on the placenta (fi gure 1, Safford 1921; Hammer et al 1983; and Haegi 1991). Currently, most botanists either explicitly Cavazos et al 2000). or implicitly accept an American origin of all Datura From the Arabic texts we concluded that, at least by the species and an absence in the pre-Columbian Old World, 12th century CE, gawz mathil, a plant with leaves like those ignoring the strong historical and cultural evidence for its of eggplant, large white trumpet-shaped fl owers and rough pre-Columbian presence in South Asia, West Asia, North

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 1240 R Geeta and Waleed Gharaibeh

Africa and Iberia. We have examined both sets of evidence, World to the 1st century BCE. At present, we taxonomic and historical, and are led to the conclusion that cannot speak to the question of whether the Datura, probably D. metel, was present in South Asia by medieval ‘stramonia’ was, indeed, Datura10. the 4th century CE, several centuries before the earliest (iii) Movement within Asia: Linguistic arguments European visits to the Americas (including the Viking have been made to support the idea that Datura voyages, c. 1000 CE). From India, Datura spread into West was a Central Asian (“Aryan”) import into India. Asia and the Muslim Mediterranean and reached Iberia This argument was based on the observation that by the 12th century, at least 3 centuries before Columbus’ ‘dhattUra’ (and its synonyms) is an Indo-Aryan explorations in the Americas. This conclusion, in turn, raises word. The apparent absence of a Dravidian name several questions regarding the pre-Columbian presence of for the plant was taken to indicate the absence Datura in other parts of Eurasia. of the plant in ancient India prior to the Aryan invasion; this, in turn, was taken to mean that (i) Eastern Asia: In China Datura (man tuo lo) is the plant was introduced and spread in the Indian described and drawn in Pen Tsao Kang Mu (The subcontinent by Aryan peoples coming in from the Great Herbal), compiled by Li Shih Chen in the north (Dymock et al 1891; Siklós 1992). DhattUra 16th century CE (Ford et al 1887). This plant, may be an Indo-Aryan word, but this need not known from “Buddhist classics” is said to have indicate the transport of the plant from Central to been introduced from India (Gordon 1884). South Asia. There is no support for such a direction The possibility that Datura was transported via of movement, but much evidence to the contrary. Buddhist ritual from India into China is supported We do not know how Datura came into South Asia, by a 14th century Tibetan translation of a Sanskrit/ but our fi ndings show that, having reached there Pali Buddhist Tantric work from the period 6th- (by the 4th century CE), it was taken from their 12th century CE. According to that work, the use of into West Asia (9th century CE) and, possibly, East the fruit of ‘da dhu ra’ (=dhattUra) leads to insanity Asia (14th century CE). and then death (Siklos 1992). The earliest possible date of this work, 6th century CE, is consistent with Our analyses of textual, iconographic and botanical data the early dates of Datura in South Asia. demonstrate a well-established equation between the Indic (ii) Europe : The record of Datura in non-Muslim dhattUra/unmattam and Datura. This equation is supported Europe is murkier than what we have seen from by the linguistic improbability of a switch in meaning from Indic and Arabic sources. We have already noted ‘dhattUra=non-Datura’ to ‘dhattUra=Datura’ (cf. Siklos that it was absent from Greek texts (albeit that 1992). We further demonstrate that there are no other the authors were mostly based in West Asia possible candidate species that could have been involved in and surrounding regions). ‘Stramonia’ was a such an (improbable) replacement. This evidence for a pre-Columbian Old World presence of medicinal/hallucinogenic plant mentioned in Datura directly contradicts the currently favored hypothesis several medieval texts (e.g. Hildegard of Bingen, of an exclusive American origin for Datura and a solely post- 11th century CE: Foley 2001); a plant translated Columbian transfer into the Old World (hypothesis 2). At the as ‘thorn apple’ (the English name for Datura) is same time, accepting a version of the traditional hypothesis mentioned in a Welsh dental herbal remedy of the of an Old World origin of at least one of the Datura species 13th century CE (Anderson 2004). It is diffi cult to tell whether these older references indicated Datura (either the thorn-apple, D. stramonium, or 10It is often suggested that gypsies were responsible for the intro- D. metel). In the 16th century, a newly introduced duction and spread of Datura stramonium in Europe, possibly in American plant was equated with this medieval the 15th century. The relevant portion from the oft-quoted source plant by Fuchs in 1542 and, based on this, the plant (Perger 1864, p 183) reads as follows: “Fast nicht minder schaedlich was named Stramonium by Tournefort in 1700 and ist der Stechapfel (Datura), welcher durch die Zigeuner nach Europa Datura by Linnaeus in 1737 (Satina and Avery gebracht worden sein soll. Den Alten war diese Pfl anze wirklich nicht bekannt, und selbst Vaillant sah sie im Jahre 1722 noch nicht 1959). Datura is the currently accepted scientifi c in der Umgegend von Paris, wo sie jetzt allenthalben zu fi nden ist.” name for the plant. Fuchs is faulted by Simon and [Our translation: Almost no less noxious is the thorn-apple (Datura), Haegi (1991) on two counts: one, for wrongly which is said to have been brought to Europe by the gypsies. In an- identifying the American plant with the medieval cient times this plant was indeed not known, and Vaillant himself ‘stramonia’ and two, for wrongly identifying could not see it in 1722 in the area around Paris, where it is found Dioscorides’ Struchnon manicon with ‘stramonia’, everywhere today.] The gypsy connection is a plausible hypothesis, thus pushing back a Datura presence in the Old but not one that was supported by data in this fi rst formulation.

J. Biosci. 32(7), December 2007 Historical evidence for a pre-Columbian presence of Datura 1241

(hypothesis 1) confl icts with the new taxonomic consensus direction in the present context. One possible scenario is that for an exclusive American origin for all Datura species. transport occurred in the opposite direction along the Gulf Accepting the taxonomic data at face value, our analyses of Stream and then, after capture by the Canary Current (http: Indic and Arabic records supports hypothesis 3: that Datura //oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/canary.html), is a New World taxon but that at least one species dispersed into West Africa. Datura is known to have a place in ritual into Asia in pre-Columbian times (the fi rst millennium CE). in at least one part of southern Africa (Johnston 1972); The evidence from these Old World texts and iconographic however, this region is quite distant from West Africa. representations suggests that D. metel was the species in Linnaeus, in his original description of D. metel, gave its question and that, by the 4th century CE, it had reached habitat as Asia and Africa (Linnaeus 2006). In the Pacifi c, South Asia, from where it was transferred to West Asia by ocean currents are believed to have allowed the transport the 9th century. of a cultigen, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) from South America to 8. Possible modes of transport: Wind, water, Polynesia (Yen 1974; Hather and Kirch 1991; Zhang et al animal, human 2004; Clarke et al 2006). The transport of the sweet potato is likely to have been human-mediated, while the fl oating How might D. metel have been dispersed from its native fruit of the latter could have enabled non-human mediated land? The seeds of this species weigh about 14 mg and may transport (e.g. Whitaker and Carter 1954; Montenegro et al be up to 5 mm long (fi gure 1; Earle and Jones 1962; Munz 2007). It has been suggested that Datura was transported and Keck 1968; Flynn et al 2006). This is considerably from Mexico/Mesoamerica to Ecuador and Peru, where it larger than seeds that are transported by wind (e.g. Salibury was used in religious ritual (Wolters 1999). It is feasible 1942, Baker 1972; Mazer 1989; Jurado et al 1991). Bird that it was transported (like the sweet potato) from there to transport is unlikely because the fruits of D. metel are Polynesia, then to South East Asia and into South Asia. We dry capsules that are not likely to be attractive to birds; in need to examine the history of the plant’s presence In both any case, the possibility of long distance transport due to cases (Africa and SE Asia/Polynesia) in order to assess the ingestion of (fl eshy) fruit by birds is generally discounted plausibility of these scenarios. today (e.g. Renner 2004). Floatation on water could be We are aware that claims of pre-Columbian human-aided a means of transport, as the inner fruit wall of Datura is transport between Asia and America have been made in the composed of spongy tissue, both green and dry fruit fl oat in past for several plants (e.g. Johanessen and Parker 1989; sea water (pers. obs.), and seeds tend to stay on the fruit even Gupta 1996), and that those claims are often not supported after dehiscence (Cavazos et al 2000; fi gure 1). Experiments by evidence (e.g., Veena and Sigamani 1991, Payak and are underway to determine the viability of seeds after long- Sachan 1993). On the other hand, the pre-Columbian term exposure to seawater. A recent evaluation of trans- transport of the sweet potato from Central America to Atlantic transport of plants suggests that exchange may have Polynesia is widely accepted (Yen 1974; Hather and Kirch occurred in both directions between South America and 1991), and it is feasible that other plants, such as Datura, Africa by means of rafting clumps of vegetation (Renner were similarly transported. However, it is important to note 2004). However, Datura is not native to South America that, given Datura was in Asia by the 4th century CE, it and the particular oceanic patterns discussed in that study must have been transported from America at least 600 or so may not be relevant to its trans-oceanic transport. The same years before the putative trans-Pacifi c transport of the sweet study also concludes that disjunct distributions of species (as potato by 1000 CE (Kirch 2000). Clearly, these hypotheses opposed to genera or other taxonomic categories) are most regarding the ancient transport of Datura from somewhere likely to be the result of human-aided transport. According in Mesoamerica to somewhere in India, via either Southeast to our analysis, D. metel represents such a disjunct species, Asia or Africa, need to be tested using a range of methods: whose fruit and seeds could have been carried by human botanical, genetic, cultural, and historical. beings from the Americas to Asia. Water is the most likely mode of transport of Datura, Acknowledgements whether through natural or human agency. It is likely that the cultigen D. metel was domesticated in Mesoamerica or Many people (family, friends, strangers) helped in different in the Caribbean Islands (Symon and Haegi 1991; Cavazos aspects of this project; we would especially like to thank et al 2000) and must have been transported across either DeGaulle Adili, Kerry Brown, R Balasubramanian, the Atlantic or the Pacifi c oceans. In the Atlantic ocean, the Ghassan Fawzi, Beatrice Grabowski, R Ramachandran, C predominant direction of transport in the Caribbean region S Ramakrishnan, Hema Ramanathan and N Ramanathan tends to be along the equatorial current or trade winds from who generously shared their knowledge of Datura, helped Africa to the Caribbean (Graham 2006); this is the wrong with access to bibliographic material and with translations

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