North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: Message

My guess is that you have bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) growing in your yard.  Although the purple flowers and bright red fruits of this vine are ornamental, this perennial Eurasian species can be very invasive (the plants are certainly difficult to kill).  There is some disagreement over its toxicity.  My advice is to grub the plants out whenever you find some.  There are too many native plants that one could be growing that are more desirable.  For more information, see http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=730, http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/bittersweet-nightshade.pdf, http://www.invasive.org/weedus/subject.html?sub=6448. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA hardiness zone 4b)

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Kathryn Mathews
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 9:52 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Bitter fruit

I've been weeding out a vine I identified as "some sort of nightshade" because I thought it was poisenous.  It gives off a distinctive smell when stems and leaves are touched or pulled.  I might leave some in some more low-maintenance areas of my yard if I thought it wasn't particularily dangerous.  After all, it's a native.  I'm not particularily interested in eating it myself, but I'd like to know I wouldn't be poisening curious children/neighbors.

Kathryn Mathews

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Kieran &/or Donna
Sent: 08/08/2009 10:50 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Bitter fruit

 

    Tim Peters talked like there were strains of huckleberry that were not bitter.  There seems to be some uncertainty whether solanum nigrum, S. melanocerasum, S. intrusum, S. scrabrum, and S. nigrum guineense are all the same species.  We have the wild black nightshade in our garden every year, and the garden huckleberry plants looked somewhat like it, but that was years ago.  I sure do remember the difference in taste between Tim's sweet and bitter strains!!!   Donna