Moon Plant – Pretty Flowered Weed

Q: We are looking for something the grower calls a moon plant (not moon vine). It has white flowers, many branches and grows into a bushy, spreading plant that reproduces rather aggressively.

A: “White flower, bushy and spreads aggressively” brings to mind only one plant: datura, also know as devil’s trumpet. The upright, trumpet-shaped flowers yield a one-inch diameter spiny pod that contains many seeds. Though the flowers are pretty, I consider it a weed because the seedlings can pop up indiscriminately across a landscape.