# purple nightshade (*Solanum xanti*)

Purple nightshade is a beautiful plant with purple flowers and shiny berries. It grows in sunny places and is often found in gardens and wild areas. Be careful, as some parts of the plant can be harmful!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate
- **Habitat:** Urban areas

![purple nightshade](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Solanum_xanti1DawnEndico.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Dawn Endico from Menlo Park, California, CC BY-SA 2.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solanum_xanti1DawnEndico.jpg)

## Appearance

The purple nightshade has vivid purple, star-shaped flowers with five petals that curve back, revealing bright yellow cone-shaped anthers at their center. Its leaves are dull green and oval, often fuzzy, supporting clusters of small, shiny green berries that ripen to black.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Solanales
- **Family:** Solanaceae
- **Genus:** Solanum

## Interesting facts

- Despite being purple, it's related to tasty tomatoes and potatoes!
- Its stunning flowers can only release pollen through a bee's special 'buzz!'
- Purple nightshade is tough; it can grow in many places where other plants struggle.
- The pretty dark berries might look yummy, but they are extremely poisonous!

## Special abilities

- **Buzz Pollination:** Purple nightshade can vibrate its flowers using a special 'buzz pollination' technique, helping it release pollen for hungry bees.
- **Berry Broadcast:** Purple nightshade produces tempting dark berries, which help it reproduce by being eaten and dispersed by birds to new locations.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 30-100 cm
- **Spread:** 30-100 cm
- **Flower Size:** 1.5-3 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Spring to Fall
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** High
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Vosnesensky Bumble Bee (*Bombus vosnesenskii*) — Buzz-pollinates its flowers.
- **Eats:** Tobacco Hornworm (*Manduca sexta*) — Larvae feed on its leaves.
- **Eaten by:** [American Robin](https://www.snappit.app/explore/american-robin) (*Turdus migratorius*) — Eats berries, dispersing seeds.

## Traits

- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Shrub](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/shrub): A shrub is a woody plant smaller than a tree, typically with multiple stems branching from or near the ground.
- [Fruit Bearing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fruit-bearing): Fruit-bearing plants produce fruits, which are the mature ovaries of flowering plants containing seeds.
- [Medicinal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/medicinal): Medicinal plants possess chemical compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat illnesses or maintain health.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Poisonous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/poisonous): Poisonous organisms produce toxins that can cause harm when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through contact.
- [Urban Friendly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/urban-friendly): This habitat trait indicates species that can coexist with humans in urban and suburban environments, utilizing man-made structures and green spaces.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate

Do not touch or eat the berries, as they can make you feel sick.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify purple nightshade?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is purple nightshade?

30-100 cm

### How wide does purple nightshade spread?

30-100 cm

### How big are the flowers on purple nightshade?

1.5-3 cm

### When does purple nightshade bloom?

Spring to Fall

### Is purple nightshade edible?

No

### Is purple nightshade toxic?

High

### What is purple nightshade's lifecycle?

Perennial

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Purple Nightshade: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/purple-nightshade)