365 Urban Species. #156: Bittersweet Nightshade
Urban species #156: Bittersweet nightshade Solanum dulcamara
Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location: Jamaicaway at Olmsted Park, Boston.
Many plants in the family Solanaceae have had long associations with humans. The New World plants tomato and hot pepper changed cuisine around the world, while potato and tobacco affected history itself. Bittersweet nightshade, a rather humbler European herb, was formerly used for a variety of medicinal applications. Today it is simply an attractive weed, a weakly climbing vine that produces colorful tomato-like berries as well as purple and yellow flowers. It is considered invasive, but is generally easier to control than many others. The main worry concerning this plant is that all parts of it, including the enticing fruits, are toxic. It is likely through familiarity with this plant that Europeans mistook the tomato to be poisonous for many years.
Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location: Jamaicaway at Olmsted Park, Boston.
Many plants in the family Solanaceae have had long associations with humans. The New World plants tomato and hot pepper changed cuisine around the world, while potato and tobacco affected history itself. Bittersweet nightshade, a rather humbler European herb, was formerly used for a variety of medicinal applications. Today it is simply an attractive weed, a weakly climbing vine that produces colorful tomato-like berries as well as purple and yellow flowers. It is considered invasive, but is generally easier to control than many others. The main worry concerning this plant is that all parts of it, including the enticing fruits, are toxic. It is likely through familiarity with this plant that Europeans mistook the tomato to be poisonous for many years.