364 SOLANACEAE (NIGHTSHADE FAMILY) 



sistent at the base of the fruit, which is an ovoid pulpy berry, at 

 first green, then bright orange, and finally ruby-red, the thin skin so 

 transparent as to reveal the yellow seeds within. A single vine 

 may exhibit all stages of coloring, from violet flowers to green and 

 ripe fruit. 



Means of control 



Young plants may be hand-pulled when the ground is soft ; older 

 roots must be grubbed out. Or the shrub may be killed by pouring 

 hot brine or caustic soda about the roots. 



COMMON, OR BLACK, NIGHTSHADE 



Solanum nigrum, L. 



Other English names: Deadly Nightshade, Duscle, Poison Berry, 

 Hound's Berry, Stubble Berry. 



Native. Annual. Propagates by 



Time of bloom : July to October. 



Seed-time: Berries ripe in late 

 August, but frequently are still 

 maturing when plants are win- 

 terkilled. 



Range : Nova Scotia to the North- 

 west Territory, southward to 

 Florida and Texas. 



Habitat: Cultivated ground, old 

 fields, waste places. 



The poisonous qualities of this 

 plant are said to vary much with 

 the conditions of its growth, the 

 more dangerous having more of 

 the characteristic musky odor. 

 Some housewives boldly make pies 

 of the fruit occasionally with un- 

 pleasant consequences. Children 

 have been poisoned by it, also 

 FIG. 254. Black Nightshade (Sola- calves, sheep, goats, and swine, but 

 num nigrum). x i " fortunately few cases are fatal," 1 



1 Thirty Poisonous Plants, by V. K. Chesnut, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



