Description
Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong to oval, and each is irregularly lobed or coarsely toothed. Both surfaces are covered with fine hairs. The flowers have five petals and are usually white or purple with yellow centers, though there is a blue variant that resembles the tomato flower. The fruits also resemble tomatoes. The immature fruit is dark green with light green stripes, turning yellow and wrinkled as it matures. Each fruit contains around 60 seeds. It flowers throughout the summer, from April to October.
Most parts of the plant are poisonous to varying degrees due to the presence of solanine which is a toxic alkaloid and one of the plant's natural defenses, but while ingestion of the unripe fruit causes abdominal pain and may potentially cause circulatory and respiratory depression, the mature fruit is reputedly non-poisonous or less poisonous.
These plants can be found growing in pastures, roadsides, railroad margins, and in disturbed areas and waste ground. They grow to about 1 m tall, but are typically shorter, existing as subshrubs. They prefer sandy or loamy soils.
Read more about this topic: Solanum Carolinense
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