The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

    Bluewitch Nightshade (Solanum umbelliferum)

    Source: Wikipedia

    Solanum umbelliferum
    Scientific classification Edit this classification
    Kingdom: Plantae
    Clade: Tracheophytes
    Clade: Angiosperms
    Clade: Eudicots
    Clade: Asterids
    Order: Solanales
    Family: Solanaceae
    Genus: Solanum
    Species:
    S. umbelliferum
    Binomial name
    Solanum umbelliferum

    Solanum umbelliferum is a species of nightshade known commonly as bluewitch nightshade,[1] or bluewitch. It can be found in chaparral habitat and low-elevation oak woodlands in California and parts of Baja California and Arizona. It is a small perennial herb or subshrub with dark gray-green oval-shaped leaves on hairy green stems that grow to a maximum height of one meter. It has bright purple or blue frilly flowers with thick yellow anthers at the center. The flowers close into spherical buds overnight. It bears small round green fruits which turn purple when ripe and resemble tiny eggplants.

    It is a tough shrub which can grow in rocky and clay soils and springs up in areas recovering from wildfires or other disturbances. Like most other members of genus Solanum, S. umbelliferum contains toxic alkaloids.

    References

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    1. ^ NRCS. "Solanum umbelliferum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 17 November 2015.
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