Silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)

Description: This plant is poisonous to both humans and cattle. This species is listed under Regulation No. 715 - Seed Law Implementation as a restricted noxious weed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Habit: Deep-rooted, erect, native perennial that reaches a height of about 3 ft.

Leaves: Alternate along stems, petioles up to 5 cm. long; blades oblong to lanceolate, 3-10 cm. long and 4-25 mm. wide, prominent veins.

Stems: Erect, branched above, covered in straight, fine, reddish prickles 2-5 mm. long.

Flowers: Showy, purple in color, in few-flowered clusters at branch tips, borne on prickly pedicels 2 cm. long; calyx 5-lobed, 1 cm. long; corolla flat and roundish, shallowly 5-lobed, 2-3 cm., violet or blue; stamens bright yellow.

Fruit and seeds: Berries globose, 9-14 mm. in diameter, yellow to brownish in color; each berry contains brown, lend-shaped seeds.

Habitat: Native to southern United States and northern Mexico. Can be found in disturbed sites, crop lands, roadsides, streambanks and marshes.

Reproduction: By seed and vegetatively via root fragments.

Similar species: Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense).

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the SEINet: Arizona - New Mexico Chapter, United States Department of Agriculture NRCS Plant Guide and CABI: Invasive Species Compendium.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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