Deadly Nightshade1

Deadly Nightshade

Deadly Nightshade

This cosmopolitan genus is one of the largest in the world, consisting of some 1400 species of annuals, biennials, perennials, shrubs, trees, and climbers. Most solanums contain toxic alkaloids. In some species, certain parts are edible while other parts of the same plant are very poisonous. This is true of the main species grown as fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. All solanums are regarded as poisonous by proponents of macrobiotics. Solanum dulcamara bears poisonous berries that have a bitter, then sweet taste. It has a long history of use for skin diseases, warts, tumors, and felons (inflammation of finger-end joints), hence another of its common names, felonwort. Dried fruits of S dulcamara were found threaded on a collarette in Tutankhamun's third coffin, though whether they were used medicinally is not known. The variegated form of S. dulcamara is widely grown as an ornamental climber for its colorful foliage, flowers, and fruits, whcih make an eye-catching display in summer and autumn. The N American S. carolinense (horsenettle), which also contains alkaloids, has a similarly bitter-sweet taste. Its effects are anti-bacterial, anti-spasmodic, and sedative. In Ayurvedic medicine, S. xanthocarpum (yellow-berried nightshade, thorny nightshade, kantakari) is used to treat various ailments; stems, flowers, and fruits are bitter and carminative; and seeds and roots are expectorant. A decoction of the plant "promotes conception in the female" (Indian Materia Medica by K. M. Nadkarni, 1976).

Shrubby, often climbing or trailing perennial with green stems and ovate, pointed leaves, to 12cm (5in) long. Purple flowers with yellow centers are borne in clusters in summer, followed by ovoid, bright red berries, to 1cm (½in) long.

Common Name:

Deadly Nightshade

Other Names:

Bittersweet, Woody Nightshade

Botanical Name:

Solanum dulcamara

Genus:

Solanum

Family:

Solanaceae

Native Location:

Eurasia; naturalized in N America.

Cultivation:

Dry to wet, neutral to alkaline soil in sun or shade. Thin out or cut back in spring. Subject to statutory control as a weed in parts of Australia.

Propagation:

By seed sown in spring (species only); by semi-ripe cuttings in summer.

Harvest:

Stems 2-3 years old are cut in spring, or after the leaves have fallen in autumn. Roots are lifted in autumn and peeled. Both are dried for infusions, liquid extracts, and ointments.

Height:

4m (12ft)

Width:

Indefinite.

Variations:

Variegatum
Has creamy white-variegated foliage

Hardiness:

Z6-8

Parts Used:

Stems, root bark.

Properties:

An astringent, cooling herb with a bitter, then sweet, taste. It lowers fever, and has diuretic, expectorant, sedative, alterative, and anti-rheumatic effects.

Medicinal Uses:

Internally for skin diseases, bronchial congestion, rheumatism, jaundice, and ulcerative colitis. Externally for skin eruptions, ulcers, rheumatism, and cellulite.

Warning:

All parts, especially leaves and unripe berries, are toxic if eaten.
Excess paralyzes the central nervous system, slows heart and respiration, and lowers temperature, causing vertigo, delirium, convulsions, and death.
For use by qualified practioners only.

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