Hot new smell for spring

If you grow tired of the mix of grease-burned carne asada, urine, exhaust and rotting garbage that hovers in the air under your nostrils as you walk through our fair neighborhood, take a chance on Pearl Street and enjoy a whiff of these big yellow suckers. These things are so smelly! And it’s completely intoxicating. To smell, perchance to dream.

UPDATE: Lizzy tells us they’re also hallucinogenic! Bonus! But! Please don’t cut off your penis!

11 Responses to “Hot new smell for spring”

  1. MrEricSir says:

    By sniffing those flowers, you’re putting hummingbirds out of a job.

  2. t-kap says:

    I love those plants! I always stop to smell them. They are all over the city. What are they called…? Anyone?

  3. lux says:

    They are called “Angel’s Trumpet” and are really toxic and a hallucinogen. The flowers contain Scopolamine and Atropine. Both hallucinogenic compounds, both are extremely toxic, and will kill you. Also the experience of ingesting the Angel’s trumpet is supposed to be horrifying. Read the Wiki entry here…

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugmansia

    where a man reportedly cut off his own penis after drinking tea made from the stuff. So it is the worst trip imaginable, and then you die from the toxicity. I first learned about them at a lecture at the academy of sciences.

  4. the guy says:

    Do Not Take These As A Hallucinogen!

  5. ihatethekids says:

    We used to call them Hells Bells. I’ve heard TERRIBLE things.

  6. fred rinne says:

    A friend of mine was working on one of these on South Van Ness, and accidentally rubbed her eye free of sweat. Hours later, one eyeball was dilated and the hospital thought she had a concussion. Her eyes returned to normal but it took a day. ALWAYS wear gloves when pruning them.

  7. scum says:

    http://www.vice.com/vice-news/colombian-devil-s-breath-1-of-2

    The substance is Scopolamine. Colombians use the substance to commit crimes.

    There are, however, other plants that look very similar.