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The Thorn apple (Datura metel) belongs to Solanaceae (the Nightshade family). It is an annual herb that is native from southern China to India. It can reach about 1 m in height. The leaves are large, entire and glabrous. The trumpet-like flowers bloom from June to September. There are many cultivars; white, yellow, purple and blue flower-color, as well as double flower. The leaves and seeds contain toxic alkaloid which was used as a component of anesthetic by Seishu Hanaoka. He is said to have been the first to perform surgery using general anesthesia toward the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "洋金花", and "洋金花" (yang jin hua) in Chinese.
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