Common Nightshade

(Solanum nigrum)

 

   

 

 

Color Photographs: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Common Nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flowers white with 5 petals. Petals with tips swept backward. Stamens yellow, large, projecting forward in a beak-shaped structure. Flowers in small clusters. Fruit a round berry, black when ripe. Stem smooth. Leaves roughly triangular with coarse, blunt teeth on outer margins. Plant 1 to 2.5 feet in height.

Distribution: Found in scattered localities throughout parts of eastern and western North America.

Habitat: Common Nightshade is an inhabitant of disturbed sites such as fields, empty lots, and roadsides.

Flowering period: May to September.

Similar Species: The white, distinctive flowers, black berries, and triangular leaves with coarse, blunt teeth should identify this species.

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