Solanum dulcamara

Bittersweet nightshade

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Bittersweet nightshade is a naturalized perennial vine found in coastal California, San Francisco Bay Area, and North Coast Ranges in moist disturbed places, marshes, and riparian areas at elevations below 1,425 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces purple to violet flowers with white-margined green spots at the base of each lobe, creating a distinctive dark purple throat. Growing as a sprawling or climbing vine up to 5 meters tall, it has somewhat woody stems that are glabrous to softly hairy. Its leaves are 5 to 12 centimeters long, ovate to heart-shaped, with occasional deep lobes near the base and a pointed tip. The fruit is a small ellipsoid berry that ripens to bright red, forming clusters that attract local wildlife.

Habitat: Moist disturbed places, marshes, riparian areas

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 1425 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.