Solanum umbelliferum var. spencerae

Parish nightshade

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Parish nightshade is a California native perennial found in southern California mountains in grassy and brushy slopes, pine-oak woodland or forest at elevations up to 2,000 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces pale lavender to blue-purple (occasionally white) flowers 15 to 22 millimeters in diameter in small umbel-like clusters. Growing 3 to 10 decimeters tall with much-branched stems that are generally glabrous, it forms a bushy, multi-stemmed habit. Its leaves are 2 to 7 centimeters long, elliptic to oblong or lanceolate, with tapered bases and acute to rounded tips. The fruit is a green berry approximately 7 to 9 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Grassy and brushy slopes, pine-oak woodland or forest

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: <= 2000 m

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