Bittersweet Nightshade
Solanum dulcamara
Other Names: Climbing Nightshade, Deadly Nightshade
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Family
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Flower
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- ~1.5 cm (1/2 inch) diameter head
- 5 violet, sometimes white, petals in drooping clusters
- yellow anthers form a beak-like cone in center of petals
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Leaf
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- up to 9cm (3.5 in)
- distinctive and long, with 2 small lobes at base
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Location
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- exotic to the US – introduced from Europe
- found in many parts of North America in moist thickets and clearings
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Flowering Time
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Other
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- fruits are tomato-like berries - shiny and green when unripe, turning bright red when ripened
- whole plant is between 60 and 240 cm (2 and 8 feet) long; a climbing vine
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Name Origin
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- Leaves and green, unripe berries contain the poison solanine. Although it is not fatally poisonous, making the name Deadly Nightshade misleading, when eaten in large quantities, the berries may be poisonous.
- hen some parts of the plant are eaten, they first taste bitter, then sweet, giving it the name “bittersweet”.
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