Zoöp Observations: Thorn appleZoöp Observations: Thorn apple

In the grassland near the bicycle shed of The New Institute, next to the Solidrain elements of the driveway, stands a neat row of thorn apple plants (Datura stramonium). In the process of removing the temporary podium on the roof of Het Nieuwe Instituut, a few of those annual plants were crushed by the scaffolding. As a result, the row of plants now looks a bit less row-like. Still, any tidyness at all remains strange: nature usually does not form neat rows. Therefore I dare to claim with near certainty that these thorn apples were sown by someone. This person has also been very lucky, because the seeds of the thorn apple do not germinate easily, particularly in dense grassland. Additionally, the seedlings are intolerant to frost, and are a favourite of snails.

The motive of the unknown thorn apple sower remains completely obscure. They may have been fascinated by the thorn apple's toxicity. The plant, also known as jimsonweed or devil's snare, contains scopolamine and several other hallucinogenic alkaloids. Since thorn apple also grows as a weed in agricultural fields, the seeds sometimes unintentionally end up between those of millet and buckwheat. Foodstuffs prepared with millet or buckwheat flour that still contain traces of thorn apple can cause a bad trip in humans. Certain forms of religious ecstasy in the early modern Netherlands, such as the famous “Nijkerk turmoils” from 1749-1752, may have been induced by the presence of thorn apple traces in processed foodstuffs.