Solanum nigrum

Black nightshade

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Black nightshade is a naturalized perennial found in northern coastal California, northern central Coast Ranges, San Francisco Bay Area, and expected in other regions in disturbed places at elevations up to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to October, this plant produces white flowers with greenish yellow throats and midvein bases, approximately 10 to 15 millimeters in diameter. Growing with spreading or curved stems 10 to 100 centimeters tall, it has both glandular and glandless hairs. Its leaves are 4 to 7 centimeters long, ovate in shape, and range from entire to coarsely wavy-toothed. The fruit is black, occasionally yellow or greenish, 6 to 10 millimeters long, and contains 20 to 40 seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed places

Bloom period: Mar-Oct

Elevation: <= 1600 m

Bioregions: NCo, n CCo, SnFrB, expected elsewhere

California counties: Los Angeles, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Inyo, Lake, Orange, Ventura, Siskiyou, Yolo, San Francisco, Sacramento, Shasta, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Glenn, Marin, Tehama, Alameda, Mendocino, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Monterey, Sonoma, Solano, Plumas, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Butte, Napa, San Mateo

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