Plants annual herbs. Leaves with petioles 5–10 cm long; blades ovate, 15–20 cm long, 3–15 cm wide, bases subcordate, margins entire, often undulate, apices acute. Calyces 8–10 cm long, teeth unequal; corollas white, 12–20 cm long, lobes without sinuses between them, corolla segments terminating in a prominent acuminate lobule, prominent interacuminal lobules at the junction of the corolla segments; stamens inserted at midlength of corolla. Capsules reflexed, globose, 3.5–5 cm long, dehiscing irregularly, with 100–200 weak spines 6-10 mm long; seeds brown, lateral surfaces without circular pits, without caruncles. with 2 longitudinal furrows creating a triple ridge along the dorsal edge; hila linear.
Datura innoxia is native to Mexico and adjacent Central America but is now widely distributed around the world, usually as a weed. The Flora of Somalia reports it from regions N1 and S1-3 and from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
There is a dispute over the spelling of the specific epithet. Miller spelled it "inoxia" but some argue that the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants requires correction to "innoxia". A formal proposal that Datua innoxia, not D. inoxia, be made the correct spelling has been submitted for consideration. It is the grammatically correct and most prevalent form in use by taxonomists.
M. Thulin (2006) Datura. In Flora of Somalia 3: 219-221
Plants to 1 m tall or more, densely pubescent with spreading glandular hairs. Leaves petiolate; petioles about 1-6 cm long; blades more or less broadly ovate. 7-18 cm long, 5-15 cm wide, bases asymmetrical and broadly cuneate to truncate, margins subentire to irregularly dentate, tips acute. Flowers: calyces 8-10 cm long; corollas white or cream, 15-18 cm long, lobes mucronate; anthers about 1 cm long. Capsules nodding, globose or ovoid, 3-5 cm in diameter, densely covered with slender, pubescent spines; dehiscence irregular, from the top; seeds brown, about 4-5 mm long.
Datura innoxia grows in waste gound, on road sides, and in wadi beds on gravel or sand. It is native to Mexico and Central America but is now widely established in tropical regions. It is known from several parts of Africa including region N1 [=Somaliland] and S1-S3 of the Flora of Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.