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Solanum sisymbriifolium |
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Generally classified as a weed - we'll judge for ourselves. I have a soft spot for spiny solanums, so growing this at least once was imperative. This one is fast-growing - blooming in mid-May, with crinkly white flowers.
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| | Developing spiny fruits |
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| | When the husks first open, the fruits are yellow... |
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| | ...and then quickly turn red. |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: bogside border One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| ken at liseed.org | Aug 27, 2005 | Rob,
Your site is great. I really enjoy your blend of informative plant photos and your comments and pictures of nature in your backyard. All gardens should be like yours- full of diversity and neat critters to marvel at!
I just wanted to let you know that your labeled "sticky nightshade" is actually Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn. AKA
apple of Peru also known as shoo-fly plant, all parts mildly toxic
Sticky Nightshade is Solanum sisymbriifolium which is a thorny plant, has eggplant-like flowers and husked red fruits.
I grow both of these out of curiosity I guess since USDA considers them invasive "weeds"!
You're right, of course. I have a separate page for nicandra, and moved the photos you saw out to there. Meanwhile, I've grown some real S. sisymbriifolium! |
| Bart Timmermans | Dec 28, 2005 | Hi i just finished my phd on this stuff: Solanum sisymbriifolium is used in The Netherlands as a trap crop for potato cyst nematodes (Globodera species). Actually, the nematodes are "fooled" by the plant, triggered by a number of chemicals to hatch out of their eggs and cysts (survival stuctures with which they survive for years in the soil without host), thinking it is a potato! And when hatched, the nematodes need a host-plant to reproduce. S. sisymbriifolium is not an adequate host, and the hatched nematodes die.
The plant does not like cold (below 10 degrees centigrade) and wet conditions (neither for gemination not for growth). Flowers either white or purple, plant size at least up to 1.5 m!, sharp thorns. Berries seem to be used for marmelade. |
| Jeroen Compagne | May 31, 2006 | 2006
This year I bought some seeds from an ecological farmer and seed trader that had the misleading name Thorny tomato. He told me the fruit was edible. The seeds where packed by himself and only carried the name thorny tomato no scyentigffic names where mentioned.
Since I figured the plant looks a lot like a nightshade I started too daubt his claim about this plants fruit being edible. I now have been searching the web for this dutch name Thorntomato (Doorntomaat) he claimed was this plants name and could not find any scyentiffic names. Some photos did however pop up. After browsing and searching I think that the plant is in fact a Solanum sisymbriifolium. This would mean that the fruits are indeed edible.
I hope so because I think i might try some...... |
- Seed from '02 trade. Baggy 70F with light (90+%G, 6d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (67%G, 4-9d)
- Seed from '07 trade. Baggy 70F (10d) - 75F (30%G, 1-3d)
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common mis-spellings: sisymbrifolium
Last modified:
August 24, 2008
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