Bittersweet Nightshade, Climbing Nightshade, Solanum dulcamara, Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Climbing Nightshade	Solanum dulcamara L.	Nightshade	Woodland	Early Summer to Early Autumn
Other names and notes	(Bittersweet Nightshade). A vine without tendrils that grows near other plants for support and can reach many feet in length. The ends of the stem with the flower clusters are usually self supporting. The shooting star like flowers are no more than 1/2 inch wide, purple with a yellow beak of stamens. The leaves are divided into three leaflets or else deeply lobed near the base. The fruit is a small berry, turning a brilliant red in the fall, that is known to be somewhat poisonous. The common name of Bittersweet Nightshade comes from the leaves, which when crushed have a sweet followed by a bitter taste. Common throughout Minnesota but originally a Eurasian plant that has now naturalized in the all the United States except some of the deep South.


Above and below: The Shooting Star like flowers	Above: A three-part leaflet. Many times the upper section does not separate and the leaf appears as a single deep-lobed leaf. Below: The deep red of the fall fruit.

Notes: Eloise Butler's records show that she obtained plants of this species on April 24, 1921 from Babcock's yard at 227 Xerxes Ave North in Minneapolis. She boarded with the Babcocks during the Garden season as their property was adjacent to Glenwood Park, the original name of the area. Once established and fruits disperse, it seldom goes away. The fruits should not be eaten. Medicinal History: There is a long medicinal history for this plant going back to Galen in 150 CE. The medicinal parts are the bark of the root and the twigs and sometimes the leaves. The plant must not be confused with Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade (Atropa bella-donna L.), which however, is quite restricted in distribution in the United States - and not known in Minnesota. Externally an ointment was made for skin diseases. Internally, a tincture was prepared to treat problems requiring a diaphoretic or a diuretic. Large doses would produce vomiting and could lead to respiratory paralysis. In Russia a home medicine developed using a few drops of tincture in vodka for treatment of a weak heart. Dried leaves can also be used to create a tincture. All members of the Nightshade family have a narcotic property, which is why some of them are highly poisonous. However, this family also includes the tomato and the potato. See Hutchins and Grieve for more details.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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