''Petunia integrifolia'' (syn. ''Petunia violacea''), the violet petunia or violetflower petunia, is a species of wild
petunia with violet-colored blooms.
''Petunia integrifolia'' is native to
Argentina.
''P. integrifolia'' bears flowers approximately 1.5 inch in diameter and the plant is typically smaller and harder to cultivate than the well-known hybrid bedding ''Petunia'' now known correctly as ''
Petunia × atkinsiana''.
Taxonomy
The species was first described as ''Salpiglossis integrifolia'' by
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...
in 1831. It was transferred to the genus ''Petunia'' as ''P. integrifolia'' by
Hans Schinz and
Albert Thellung
Albert Thellung (12 May 1881 – 26 June 1928) was a Swiss botanist.
He was a professor at the University of Zürich. The Austrian botanist Otto Stapf named the plant genus ''Thellungia'' of the grass family, Poaceae, after him, and Otto E ...
in 1915. ''
Petunia inflata'' had sometimes been considered to be a subspecies of ''P. integrifolia'', but the two have different native ranges, with ''P. inflata'' growing in more northern areas.
Hallucinogen
''Petunia violacea''
Lindl. has been reported to be used as a
hallucinogen in
Ecuador, where the plant has the vernacular name shanín. The drug is said to cause sensations of
levitation and
flight - a type of hallucination often associated with the use of the more toxic hallucinogenic plants of the
deliriant type; e.g., the
tropane-containing ''
Atropa'' and ''
Hyoscyamus'', active constituents of the witches'
flying ointments of
Medieval and
Early Modern Europe
Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...
.
[Haro, A., S. L. : "Shamanismo y farmacopea en el Reino de Quito". ''Inst. Ecuat. Cienc. Nat. Contr., No. 75'' : Nov. 1971.]
References
External links
*
*
''P. integrifolias'' entry at Gardenguides.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q160825
integrifolia
Flora of Argentina