Black Berry Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a common plant that suffers from an equally common misconception.
Many people believe that, because the common name contains ‘nightshade’, it is as poisonous as the unrelated Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna), which it isn’t at all. Luckily, Deadly Nightshade isn't naturalized here in Australia, so we Aussies don't need to fear it.
Black Berry Nightshade is one of the Solanum family, so is related to more commonly eaten, every day, vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes and pepinos.
Like many Solanums, you must be careful which part you eat and when. In the case of BlackBerry Nightshade, we eat the ripe berries. When ripe, they are a purple – black colour and very soft. They fall easily from the plant when ready.
Last year, I took a small plant from a roadside verge and replanted it in our garden. It thrived on the extra love and water and grew to be about 1 metre tall. Over the Summer, we harvested over 2 kg of berries from it. That wasn't all at once though. as the berries dont all ripen at the same time, but we got about 300 grams every few days.
After reading about them in my post on my other blog, Ligaya, our friend AJ gathered lots of berries and made the most delicious (and very purple) jam.
Whatever you do, don’t eat the green berries. They can make you pretty ill.
The leaves of Black Berry Nightshade are eaten in some parts of the world, mostly Europe, as they can be cooked like Spinach but I don’t find them that tasty. I'll stick to Goosefoot as my preferred Spinach substitute. Actually, I'm starting to call Spinach out Goosefoot substitute, but that's another story!
The leaves can also be made into an ointment for minor skin complaints and have been used for tumors. Small doses of fresh juice can be used to ease pain and kick off a sweat, though I’m not sure of safe doses. I have tried small amounts as a pain killer and it works and it did kick off a heavy sweat. Caution is advised here.
All in all, Solanum nigrum is a pretty useful plant that's got a bad name.
Remember - Don't eat the green berries, only the black ones!
This is #originalwork. The pics were taken by yours truly.
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