No. 14.] FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS. 345 



Rare. Cultivated ground and waste places. July. Fugi- 

 tive from temperate South America. 



One of the important food plants of the world. 



Solanum Dulcamara L. (bitter-sweet). 



Woody Nightshade. Bittersweet. Wolf Grape. Violet 



Bloom. 



Frequent. Moist or wet thickets, waste grounds, road- 

 sides, about ponds and along streams. June — Aug. ; fruit 

 July — Sept. Naturalized from Europe. 



The young branches and leaves are sometimes used medici- 

 nally and were formerly officinal. The berries are somewhat 

 poisonous. 



Solanum nigrum L. (black). '^ 



Black or Common Nightshade. 



Frequent. Moist rich soil or often in drier places or on 

 sea beaches. July — Sept. ; fruit Aug. — Oct. 



Stock are sometimes poisoned by eating this plant. All 

 parts of the plant are said to be more or less poisonous. 

 This plant has recently been somewhat extensively advertised 

 in seed catalogues as Garden Huckleberry, and it is claimed 

 the ripe berries are entirely safe and wholesome either fresh 

 or cooked. The testimony is somewhat conflicting. 



It is stated that in some countries the leaves are eaten as 

 a pot-herb after thorough cooking; that in the Dakotas the 

 plant is called Stubbleberry, and the ripe fruit is much used 

 for making pies and preserves. 



On the other hand the best chemical authorities state 

 that active poisonous principles have been found in the ripe 

 berries as well as in other parts of the plant. The species 

 is quite variable, and it is probable that some plants are more 

 poisonous than others, in consequence of conditions of growth 

 not yet understood. 



All things considered, its indiscriminate use as a food plant 

 cannot be recommended. 



Solanum carolinense L. 



Horse or Bull Nettle. Sand Brier. 



Rare. Fields and meadows: Middletown (Bissell), Nau- 



