Scientific Name: Solanum ptycanthum Dun.
Other Names: Garden nightshade, deadly nightshade, and poison berry.
Life Cycle: summer annual
General Description: Erect, branched plant with irregularly toothed leaves.
Seedlings: Hypocotyls are hairy, green, but often maroon. Cotyledons are ovate, smooth, green on upper surface and maroon on the lower surface.
True Leaves and Stem: Leaves are alternate, wavy, and triangular to oval in shape. Margins are entire or irregularly toothed. Leaves are usually riddled with holes from flea beetles feeding and have a purple tint to the underside of the leaf. Stems and leaves are covered in soft short hairs.
Roots: Taproot.
Flower and Fruit: Flowers consist of five fused petals arranged in a star shaped umbrella. Clusters of 5-7 flowers that are white or purple-tinged/striped are common. Fruits are small, glossy, black berries (10mm diameter). Approximately 50-100 seeds may be found in each berry.
Other Information: All vegetative parts of the plant are poisonous.