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Woody Nightshade

Woody Nightshade

Solanum dulcamara

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How common: Very common

Woody Nightshade is a scrambling climber with starry purple flowers and clusters of glossy red berries. It grows along damp shores, ditches and thickets across much of Europe and parts of Asia, and it has spread to North America. All parts are poisonous, especially the tempting red berries.

Did you know?

  • A close relative of the potato; its starry purple flowers look similar.
  • Introduced to North America, where it now grows along streams and in thickets.

About the species

Identification

Climbing or trailing semi-shrub, woody at the base, 30–160 cm tall, leaning on other plants or fences. Stems smooth and round. Leaves 5–10 cm, mostly egg- to heart-shaped; many have a pointed tip and either an arrow-shaped base or 1–4 small side lobes near the base; edges smooth. Many drooping, star-shaped flowers in loose clusters; petals bent back, deep purple to violet (sometimes white), with a bright yellow cone in the center; each flower about 1–1.5 cm wide. Later, shiny red oval berries about 7–8 mm hang in bunches. Tell it from black nightshade (white flowers, black berries, not climbing) and deadly nightshade (large bell flowers, single black berries). Flowers in Finland from June to August.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

shore

Toxicity

A poisonous plant – do not taste it. Source: HUS Poison Information Centre (Finland), tel. 0800 147 111.

Flowering

Jun–Aug

About the habitat

From sun to shade on wet or moist ground: river and lake shores, reedbeds, alder thickets, ditches, stony or sandy banks and rough ground; often scrambling through shrubs or along fences. Fairly common in southern and central Finland; native up to Central Ostrobothnia. Also grown as an ornamental and only rarely escaped from gardens.

Sources

Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bitterweet Nightshade 2.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Laaja maatalouslajintuntemus 4 op - Koppisiemeniset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39558

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39558

Text: Pinkka: Viheralueiden kasvit - Perennat ja ryhmäkasvit: 2-sirkkaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39558

Text: Pinkka: Suomen puuvartiset - Koppisiemeniset. Lähteet: Väre, H., Saarinen, J., Kurtto, A. & Hämet-Ahti, L. (toim.) 2021: Suomen puu- ja pensaskasvio. 3. täysin uudistettu p. – Publications of the Finnish Dendrological Society 10: 1–552 s., CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39558

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punakoiso

See also