by the half-moon door

by the half-moon door

lemony angel's trumpet

spiraling outward

These beautiful flowers grow wild on small trees all over the Andes. This particular tree is growing in a small courtyard of a restaurant in Puno, just outside the toilet with its half-moon door. The pendulous flowers in all stages of opening are quite enchanting, plus they also give off a delicate, slightly lemony fragrance, especially in the evening. Lovely to look at but they can be deadly to ingest. All parts of the plant are extremely poisonous for both humans and animals. Merely touching eyes after touching the plant can cause pupil dilation. Amazonian shamans ritually consume Brugmansia for its powerful hallucinogenic effects, but since the toxicity is variable, this can prove to be fatal.