Sunday, August 30, 2009

Silverleaf Nightshade


This is another mailbox find. It was such a pretty little flower, but it is a very poisonous plant like most nightshade (aka, potato). The whole plant was about fairly short, with flowers about an inch in diameter with five light lavender petals and five bright yellow stamen. When fresh the flower looks like a five-pointed star, when slightly old it looks like... a starved five-pointed star. This type of nightshade can be anywhere from 4 inches to 3 feet tall.
I found it right at the end of this batch's flowering time, they flower from about April to August (colder climates) or October (for warmer climates).
The stems are slightly fuzzy looking though when they start dying the fuzz drops off leaving the plant looking much more green, this fuzz is what gives the plant it's silvery look. The leaves are generally between 3-5 inches long and are elongated (.25-1 inch wide) with slightly rounded points, they're frequently curled upwards from the midvein and appear to have wavy edges; they also grow in opposite steps.
Silverleaf Nightshade produces small light yellow to red berries, which are no-nos to eat.


For a picture of many in bloom:

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