Solanum umbelliferum var. incanum

White-stemmed nightshade, hoary nightshade

Family: Solanaceae · Type: shrub · Native

White-stemmed nightshade is a California native shrub found in dry slopes, arid scrub, woodland, and chaparral, primarily below 1,325 meters elevation. Flowering from March to June and again from October to November, this plant produces pale blue-purple flowers with corollas 15 to 25 millimeters in diameter. Growing as a subshrub up to one meter tall with ascending to erect stems densely covered in white, matted branched hairs, it creates a distinctive silvery-gray appearance. Its leaves are narrowly oblong to lanceolate, 1 to 3.5 centimeters long, with entire margins and a tapered base, contributing to its soft, gray-green herbage. The fruit is pale green to nearly white, measuring 10 to 15 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Dry slopes, arid scrub, woodland, chaparral, sometimes after fire

Bloom period: Mar-Jun, Oct--Nov

Elevation: < 1325 m

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