NATIVE RANGE: 1000-6000'; washes and roadsides from deserts to mesas; southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas south to South America

WILDLIFE VALUE: Flowers attract pollinating hawkmoths and other insects

This perennial herb grows 3-4' high and 3-6' wide o give it a wide berth in full sun or partial shade. Choose a location where the handsome, large white trumpet-shaped flowers (with a strong sweet fragrance) will be noticed. Blooms sporadically throughout the warm season if soil moisture is present, but flowers most heavily in late summer. Hawkmoths pollinate the flowers and lay eggs on the foliage. The caterpillars incorporate the plant's toxins (all parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested) into their own tissues and become distasteful to potential predators. Plants die back in winter but grow back from a thick perennial root.