Bittersweet Nightshade Vine- Flowers to Berries
Hi everyone! I hope you are not tired of berries yet because I have one more plant to show you from flowers to berries. Bittersweet Nightshade, (Solanum dulcamara).
This vine is considered to be a stubborn weed here in the U.S. because it climbs onto fences, trees and bushes. It is a member of the Nightshade family and poisonous to people, pets and livestock, but different from the Deadly Nightshade plant.
The unique, small purple flowers begin to bloom in mid May. The center of the flower is bright yellow and cone shaped.
Next, the berries turn yellow, then orange and they are ripe when they turn red. Bittersweet Nightshade berries are juicy and has been said that they taste bitter sweet, hence their name. There are approximately 30 seeds in each ripe berry. The birds love to eat them in autumn, so you can see how these plants get dispersed easily.
There is some interesting folklore about Bittersweet Nightshade. It was used as a remedy for Psoriasis and other skin problems. When mixed with other herbs and small doses were given to take orally, it acted as a diuretic or a purgative. In other words, it cleaned you out.
Want to help someone with a broken heart? Dried leaves and berries were made into sachets and placed under their pillow for that.
Information Source: bbg.org, kingcounty.gov
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I have some bitter sweet memories too. You work is lovely. Great nick too!
Oh, please do tell. Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by! : )
Those flowers remind me a little of eggplant flowers. @artemislives wrote about eggplant as a topical medicine for signs of early skin cancer, so I wonder if they have similar properties (they are the same family after all).
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Hi @minismallholding! The eggplant flowers do look very similar to the Bittersweet Nightshade and yes, they are in the same family. But while doing my research I found nothing except for the whole plant was toxic. I will have to check out @artemislives post because I am very interested if eggplant can be used can be used as a topical medicine for skin cancer. Thanks for telling me about that and thanks for stopping by! : )
Most definitely YES @whatisnew - there is much documented online in clinical studies about the success of treating skin cancers topically with eggplant extract.
Hi @artemislives! Thanks so much for your time and the link to your informative article. You just can't put a price on the information you provided and I am truly grateful. : )
https://steempeak.com/naturalmedicine/@artemislives/a-proven-documented-natural-preventative-treatment-for-skin-cancers
Glad you found it helpful. :) It was my pleasure.
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What an interesting plant and Berries
Thanks @tattoodjay! I thought so too. : )
I do love mosaic art the artists must have such skill and patience to do these pieces
I love those flowers, but the nightshade name has always made me think they were deadly poisonous. Thanks for all this info.
I love the odd shaped berries and how they form in clusters. Glad you liked the info. : )
I have American Bittersweet growing around here.....but not seen Bittersweet Nightshade growing on Long Island...
That is interesting. I am sure they will pop up one day.
That's interesting! I don't think I realized there were 2 kinds. I have the other kind, with black berries.
Yeah, the nightshade at my place has the black( or very dark purple) berries as well.
Both are poisonous but the bittersweet is less so.
Oh and over in this corner is my hemlock patch lol
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Nice shots @whatisnew I have Nightshade in the back yard as well, the Deadly one lol
Oh Check out this moth
It's Kitty Moth !!
Yes, there is hemlock also...for real! I have never seen the deadly Nightshade. Maybe one day you can take pictures of it. I love that shot of the moth, especially the face. : )
Hi sweetie, I'm tops today working down until I reach your dust;0