Nature Bulletin No. 460-A   June 3, 1972
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
George W. Dunne, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY

In our forest preserves we frequently find a vine-like plant, with long 
slender woody stems, twining or climbing at the base of a big tree. It is 
also found next to buildings, along fence rows and on ditch banks. It 
has modest clusters of blue 5-lobed flowers with yellow centers, and 
these are followed in mid-summer by little scarlet berries, with thin 
transparent skins. that look like tiny tomatoes. They should not be 
eaten, because they are mildly poisonous. This is the Climbing or 
Bittersweet Nightshade introduced from Europe but now naturalized 
and widespread in this country.

The Nightshade Family has about 1700 species, most of them native to 
or originating in the tropics. It includes the "Irish" potatoes, the 
tomatoes, the eggplant and the peppers. Several plants famous for their 
narcotic and poisonous properties belong to this strange family, 
notably: tobacco, belladonna or Deadly Nightshade, henbane, and the 
Jimson Weed. So do such ornamental species as the petunias, 
matrimony vine, and the Jerusalem Cherry.

Belladonna, which has escaped from cultivation as a drug plant and 
become naturalized in some parts of eastern United States, is a shrub 
with purple bell-shaped flowers and shiny black cherry-like berries. The 
Black Nightshade also bears drooping black berries but it is a 
herbaceous plant and has white flowers. One kind was introduced from 
Europe but others are native here. In Iowa, Nebraska, and along the 
Pacific Coast, the berries are used in pies and preserves. A cultivated 
variety called "wonder berry" has been developed.

The Ground Cherry or Husk Tomato is another kind of nightshade, and 
there are any species native to the United States. The most common one 
in this region is found in meadows and old fields, usually on poor soil. 
The round yellow berry is enclosed in an inflated papery husk 
resembling a Japanese lantern. Unripe, the berries have a strong 
unpleasant taste but when ripe they taste somewhat like tomatoes and 
can be eaten raw or cooked to make preserves.

The Bull Nettle or Silver-leaf Nightshade, native here, has spiny stems 
and prickly silvery-white leaves, blue flowers, and a juicy yellow or 
orange berry full of seeds. Very similar but having green leaves and 
pale violet or white flowers, is the Horse Nettle or Sand Brier native in 
our southern states and now widely spread over the central and eastern 
states.

The Sand Bur or Beaked Nightshade, is a pest that grows in waste 
places and especially on sandy soils. The plant is small, very prickly, 
with yellow flowers. It bears numerous little berries each enclosed in a 
bur with long, very sharp spines. These cling to your clothing or to the 
feet and legs of animals, get between a dog's toes, and cause much 
anguish to barefoot boys.

Jimson Weed, so-called because the early colonists in Jamestown 
became crazed after eating it, is a tropical plant often found in hog lots 
and barnyards. It is a tall coarse plant with white or violet funnel-
shaped flowers and large spiny fruits. It stinks. Some people get a bad 
rash by merely touching it. All parts of it contain a deadly poison.