Solanum furcatum

Forked nightshade

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Forked nightshade is a naturalized perennial herb found in coastal bioregions including Northern Coast, Central Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in open, often disturbed places at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces white to pale violet flowers with greenish yellow throats and midribs, approximately 12 to 20 millimeters in diameter. Growing with reclining stems 50 to 120 centimeters tall, covered in sparse, curved unbranched hairs, the plant has a somewhat sprawling habit. Its leaves are 3 to 10 centimeters long, ovate in shape, and typically entire or with irregular few-toothed edges. The fruit develops in clusters of 6 to 14, spherical and ranging from green to dark purple, with small stone cells that quickly fall away when ripe.

Habitat: Open, often disturbed places

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Mendocino, San Mateo, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Humboldt, San Diego, Sonoma, Ventura, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz

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