Silver-leaved Nightshade

I love these flowers even though they are annoying weeds, we have so many of them blooming this year because we have been blessed with a good amount of rain compared to the horrible drought we were in last year. I have several products that I have designed featuring this photo. I will have another post very soon introducing a new product to be featured in my store so check back in a day or so.

Please also check out My website where you can check out my photo galleries and also buy prints of many sizes and even on canvas and metal as well.  

I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I do.  http://www.zazzle.com/meganrene88 

 

Silver-leaved Nightshade or Silverleaf nightshade, Solanum elaeagnifolium, is a common weed of western North America and also found in South America. Other common names include Prairie Berry, Silverleaf Nettle, White Horsenettle or Silver Nightshade. In South Africa it is known as Silver-leaf bitter-apple or satansbos ("Satan's Bush" in Afrikaans). More ambiguous names include "bull-nettle", "horsenettle" and the Spanish "trompillo"

It is a perennial 10 cm to 1 m in height. The stems are covered with nettle-like prickles, ranging from very few on some plants to very dense on others. Leaves and stems are covered with downy hairs (trichomes) that lie against and hide the surface, giving a silvery or grayish appearance.

The leaves are up to 15 cm long and 0.5 to 2.5 cm wide, with shallowly waved edges, which distinguish it from the closely related Carolina Horsenettle (S. carolinense), which has wider, more deeply indented leaves. The flowers, appearing from April to August, have five petals united to form a star, ranging from blue to pale lavender or occasionally white; five yellow stamens and a pistil form a projecting center. The plant produces glossy yellow, orange, or red berries that last all winter and may turn brown as they dry.

Its range is from Kansas south to Louisiana, and west through the Mexican-border states of the United States into Mexico, as well as Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. It may have originated in North America and was accidentally introduced to South America or the reverse. It can grow in poor soil with very little water. It spreads by rhizomes as well as seeds, and is common in disturbed habitats. It is considered a noxious weed in 21 U.S. states and in countries such as Australia, Egypt, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It is toxic to livestock and very hard to control, as root stocks less than 1 cm long can regenerate into plants. However, some gardeners encourage it as a xeriscape ornamental.

The Pima Indians used the berries as a vegetable rennet, for those of you who don’t know; because before I did a little research I myself did not know this, that a Rennet is a complex of Enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach. This is one of the few plants that produce a rennet.  It is used to curdle milk in the production of cheese, it helps separate the whey from the curd.
 Kiowa Indians used the seeds together with brain tissue to tan leather. Kinda gross I know!!!