304 



COMMON WEEDS 



The toxic principle is the alkaloid Solanine, which 

 occurs in the stem, leaves, and berries, and there is 



no doubt that it is 

 poisonous both to 

 man and to farm 

 live stock. Al- 

 though stock rarely 

 touch the plant it is 

 occasionally taken, 

 and may prove 

 harmful. A case is 

 quoted in the Jour- 

 nal of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society 

 (1905), in which it 

 was eaten by a cow 

 along with Meadow 

 Saffron with fatal 

 results. 



Black Night- 

 shade (Solanum nig- 

 rum L.) is a small 

 branched annual of 

 6 inches to 2 feet 

 in height, with oval 

 leaves and lateral 

 clusters of small 

 white flowers, which 

 give rise to black 

 or reddish-black 

 berries resembling 

 black currants. The 



plant (Fig. 86) has a disagreeable odour. It is fre- 

 quently a troublesome weed in gardens, especially when 

 these are not well cared for. The alkaloid Solanine 



FIG. 86. Garden or Black Nightshade (Solanum 

 nigrum L. ), x^. 



