DescriptionComparison of young foliage of Latua pubiflora ( left ) with that of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides ( right ), showing ease of confusion.jpg
English: Comparison of young, leafy, non-flowering shoots of, on the left, Latua pubiflora (Griseb.) Baillon ( family Solanaceae ) and, on the right, Dasyphyllum diacanthoides (D.Don) Cabrera ( family Asteraceae ), juxtaposed to reveal the ease of a potentially dangerous confusion of these two native Chilean medicinal plants, which has frequently resulted in accidental poisonings by Latua of blunt trauma victims who mistook it for Dasyphyllum diacanthoides (which they were seeking as a remedy for their condition).
The Latua specimen on the left ( a small, container-grown plant purchased from a specialist nursery in the county of Herefordshire, U.K. ) was brought to a wholesale specialist nursery in the county of Cornwall, U.K. ( at the time, possibly the only location in the U.K. where a specimen of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides was readily viewable ) with the express purpose of illustrating a dangerous confusion which has occurred quite frequently in Chilean folk medicine. N.B. even when the plants are not in flower they may still be told apart by means of the following features 1.) Latua spines are borne singly, while those of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides are borne in pairs ( as described in the specific name ). 2.) The leaves of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides tend, even when young, to bear a spine at the leaf-tip, while those of Latua do not. 3.) The leaves of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides become much more leathery than those of Latua as they mature, a textural feature absent in only the youngest of foliage. 4.) The leaf veins of Latua ( viewed from below ) tend to be more prominent than those of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides. 5.) The young bark of Latua is striated, while that of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides is finely warty.
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Young shoots of, on the left, Latua pubiflora ( Solanaceae ) and, on the right, Dasyphyllum diacanthoides ( Asteraceae ), showing ease of confusion when plants not in flower.