Black Nightshade - introduced (*Solanum nigrum)

Other names: Blackberry Nightshade.

Family: Solanaceae (Potato family).

Native of Europe.

Occurrence: A common weed of degraded farmland, roadsides and waste areas.

Identification:

• it is a herb (i.e non woody plant) or shrub, growing to a metre high
• it has green egg-shaped leaves that are sometimes lobed
• the leaves are not markedly lighter on the under-surface
• the flowers are starry and white
• the fruit is a small green to black berry, and the fruit stalks are bent downward.

This plant is sometimes called Deadly Nightshade, a name generally given to a different species (Altropa belladonna).

Similar species: White-tip Nightshade has leaves that are paler beneath, petals that are narrower, and the fruit stalks are bent sharply back.

Photos 1: Black Nightshade growing in a stone wall. Forest Creek, Castlemaine.
2: Black Nightshade. Lake Pertobe. 3: Enlargement of part of photo 2.
4: Numerous Black Nightshade along Dead Horse Gully. Castlemaine. 5: Berries. Forest Creek.