Brugmansia sanguinea, the red angel's trumpet, is a species of South American flowering shrub or small tree belonging to the genus Brugmansia in tribe Datureae of subfamily Solanoideae of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It has been cultivated and used as an entheogen for shamanic purposes by the South American Natives for centuries - possibly even millennia.[1]
Brugmansia sanguinea is a small tree reaching up to 10m (30feet) in height. The pendent, tubular/trumpet-shaped flowers come in shades of brilliant red, yellow, orange and green.[2]
B. sanguinea is endemic to the Andes mountains from Colombia to northern Chile at elevations from 2000mto3000mm (7,000feetto10,000feetm).[3]
All parts of Brugmansia sanguinea are poisonous. Different parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids in varying proportions. Alkaloid content in the flowers is mainly atropine with only traces of scopolamine (hyoscine).[4] The seeds of B. sanguinea contain approximately 0.17% alkaloids by mass, of which 78% are scopolomine.[5]