Scientific Name |
Solanum ptycanthum Dun. |
Other Names |
Garden nightshade, deadly nightshade, and poison berry. |
Life Cycle |
summer annual |
General Description |
Erect, branched plant with irregularly toothed leaves. |
Seedlings |
Hypocotyls are hairy, green, but often maroon. Cotyledons
are ovate, smooth, green on upper surface and maroon on the lower surface.
|
True Leaves and Stem |
Leaves are alternate, wavy, and triangular to oval in shape.
Margins are entire or irregularly toothed. Leaves are usually riddled with
holes from flea beetles feeding and have a purple tint to the underside
of the leaf. Stems and leaves are covered in soft short hairs. |
Roots |
Taproot. |
Flower and Fruit |
Flowers consist of five fused petals arranged in a star
shaped umbrella. Clusters of 5-7 flowers that are white or purple-tinged/striped
are common. Fruits are small, glossy, black berries (10mm diameter). Approximately
50-100 seeds may be found in each berry. |
Other Information |
All vegetative parts of the plant are poisonous. |