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jimpson weed

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jimson weed

[jim-suhn]
–noun
a coarse, rank-smelling weed, Datura stramonium, of the nightshade family, having oaklike, poisonous leaves and tubular white or lavender flowers.
Also, jimpson weed [jimp-suhn] , Jimson weed.


Origin:
1805–15, Americanism; var. of Jamestown weed, after Jamestown, Virginia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

jimson weed 
1812, Amer.Eng. shortening of Jamestown-weed (1687), from Jamestown, Virginia colony, where it was discovered by Europeans (1676), when British soldiers mistook it for an edible plant and subsequently hallucinated for 11 days.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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