European black nightshade

Appearance

Black nightshade is a common herb or short-lived perennial shrub, found in many wooded areas, as well as disturbed habitats. It reaches a height of 30 to 120 cm, leaves 4.0 to 7.5 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide; ovate to heart-shaped, with wavy or large-toothed edges; both surfaces hairy or hairless; petiole 1 to 3 cm long with a winged upper portion.

The flowers have petals greenish to whitish, recurved when aged and surround prominent bright yellow anthers. The berry is mostly 6 to 8 mm in diam., dull black or purple-black. In India, another strain is found with berries that turn red when ripe.

Sometimes ''S. nigrum'' is confused for the more toxic deadly nightshade, ''Atropa belladonna'', in a different Solanaceae genus altogether. A comparison of the fruit shows that the black nightshade berries grow in bunches, the deadly nightshade berries grow individually.

Defense

Solanine levels in ''S. nigrum'' can be toxic. Children have died from poisoning after eating unripe berries. However, the plant is rarely fatal, with ripe berries causing symptoms of mild abdominal pains, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Poisoning symptoms are typically delayed for 6 to 12 hours after ingestion. Initial symptoms of toxicity include fever, sweating, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, confusion, and drowsiness. Death from ingesting large amounts of the plant results from cardiac arrhythmias and respiratory failure. Livestock have also been poisoned from nitrate toxicity by grazing the leaves of ''S. nigrum''. All kinds of animals can be poisoned after ingesting nightshade, including cattle, sheep, poultry, and swine. However, in central Spain, the great bustard may act as a seed disperser of European black nightshade . Black nightshade is highly variable, and poisonous plant experts advise to avoid eating the berries unless they are a known edible strain. The toxin levels may also be affected by the plant's growing conditions. The toxins in ''S. nigrum'' are most concentrated in the unripe green berries, and immature fruit should be treated as toxic. Most cases of suspected poisoning are due to consumption of leaves or unripe fruit.

There are ethnobotanical accounts of ''S. nigrum'' leaves and shoots being boiled as a vegetable with the cooking water being discarded and replaced several times to remove toxins.

Uses

Some of the uses ascribed to ''S. nigrum'' in literature may actually apply to other black nightshade species within the same species complex, and proper species identification is essential for food and medicinal uses .