Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Solanales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solanum dulcamara
FAMILY
Solanaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Bittersweet Nightshade at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solanum dulcamara var. dulcamara
FAMILY
Solanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Solanum dulcamara
SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Solanum dulcamara
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 165-05-001:
Solanum dulcamara FAMILY Solanaceae
COMMON NAME:
Bittersweet Nightshade, Deadly Nightshade, Climbing Nightshade
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sodu_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0305t_23
May Haywood County NC
Many leaves with lobed basal portion or even a pair of leaflets, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm0305u_02
May Haywood County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_012
September Hancock County ME
Bright red oval berries about 0.4" long are poisonous to humans, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_014
September Hancock County ME
Shooting star-shaped flowers, flower lobes pointed backward, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_018
September Hancock County ME
Each lobe with 2 green dots at the base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_019
September Hancock County ME
Drooping clusters of 7-14 flowers, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_019b
September Hancock County ME
Calyx about 2mm long, lobes minute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_023
September Hancock County ME
)
JK Marlow jkm090926_025
September Hancock County ME
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solanum dulcamara
FAMILY
Solanaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solanum dulcamara var. dulcamara
FAMILY
Solanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Solanum dulcamara
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Solanum dulcamara
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 165-05-001:
Solanum dulcamara
FAMILY
Solanaceae
1409
Woody vine
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Rare in NC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems and leaves unarmed
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Purple
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
Synsepalous calyx, lobes minute
5-parted rotate corolla
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Red
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018) p007
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p328
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p430
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p085
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p198
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p235
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p334
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p151
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".