strange plant in my raised bed

any ideas what this is, it has flowers like a cougette, leaves like a cucumber and a thorny friut emerging from the axil on the stems

 

Looks like it could be a Datura. I don't know much about these except that the fruits are poisonous, but I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along shortly to confirm.

 

Looks like the age old problem of the "thorn apple".

They seem to be cropping up everywhere this year.

 

Be careful how you handle it, because all parts of it are poisonous...:flag:

 

Untill recently, I had always thought of Datura as a rare, and exotic tender plant. Now having grown some myself from Walnut's seed, it seems to be almost a weed, with several members turning up self seeded (?) examples.

I can't get over Pete's comments, in another thread, about how it self seeds everywhere.

Is this just part of my learning curve, or is global warming changing our weed population?

 

thanks to all for the help, it is a thorn apple or jimson weed so its now out of the bed and burnt.

 

Peter, they flower readily when self sown, as you know, and form seed in only a few weeks.

So my guess is that its nothing to do with global warming, more likely we are growing differing plants and they are naturalising in distrurbed ground.

Evening primrose is springing up everywhere these days also.

I have a theory that the odd seed of thorn apple must be getting into wild bird feed some how.It does seem to be very much more seen these days.

 

Because Datura contains the alkaloids, atropine and hyoscine, it was once cultivated in this country. According to some information I have, Thorn-apple tends to grow well during periods of very hot weather, where it often springs up in the most unlikely of places.

 

Wyrmat don't be put off Daturas by all the comments there are some beautiful cultivars out there, it's a bit like convolvulus you wouldn't plant that but would probably be knocked out by some of the morning glory specimens that are grown,and yes it is poisonous but so are 90% of the plants in your garden.