Family: Solanaceae
Common name: Brazilian nightshade, Star potato vine, Seaforth’s nightshade, Climbing nightshade, Italian jasmine, Deadly nightshade, Potato creeper, Blue potato vine, St Vincent’s lilac, Vining solanum
Brazilian nightshade is a climbing vine that can be recognized easily by its beautiful mauve or lavender colored flowers and bright red berries.
They can be grown as ornamentals, though they are considered invasive in many parts of India due to their fast-growing nature, choking surrounding vegetation.
Plant Characteristics
These plants are quick growers and can grow over 6 meters tall, climbing on fences or surrounding vegetation. It is very common to see bunches of dark red berries hanging on tall trees like tamarind or mango.
When they climb on small plants, Brazilian nightshades are capable of choking and killing the plants by spreading a net of foliage over the plants that can cut off sunlight.
Stem is flexible, green, and woody, with multiple branches that can form a dense foliage. Their climbing and twining nature helps the plant grow quickly by clinging on to supporting structures like fences, trellises, or surrounding trees.
Leaves are very beautiful and deeply-lobed like those of Tomatoes, a related species in the nightshade family.
They are deep green and glossy, multi-lobed, about 7-15 cm long. The leaves have smooth margins and grow densely on the stem, thus covering the supporting structure.
Hence, they are considered invasive weeds in agricultural land since the thick foliage can cover nearby plants. But while growing on trees, these vines can beautify the trees by twining on the stems and producing bunches of beautiful red berries.
Brazilian nightshade flowers are very beautiful indeed. Light purple or lavender in color with 5 distinct petals and a yellow center that has raised stamens, these flowers are very elegant. They bloom in large bunches of 20-40 flowers that live for a few days and then produce the berries.
Each flower is 3-4 cm in diameter, star-shaped when they open up. The abundant blooms of the plant appear during spring and late summer, attracting multiple pollinators to them.
Pollinated flowers produce small rounded berries that start out green, later turn orange, and then dark red when they ripen. The berries are quite small, about 1 cm in diameter, hanging in large, pendulous bunches that look very attractive.
But they are not eaten by animals or humans due to their bitter taste and toxicity. Many plants of the Solanaceae family contain a toxic compound called Solanine, which, when ingested in large quantities, can cause adverse effects.
Gardening Tips
Brazilian nightshade plants need good sunlight, but they can also thrive in partial or filtered sunlight under large trees.
They grow well in moist, warm weather and cannot tolerate frost. Hence, these plants are not commonly seen in temperate weather.
They are essentially wild plants, and can grow and thrive without any care and attention. They are tolerant of drought, poor soil conditions, and moderate weather fluctuations.
When they do not have anything to climb on, these plants trail along the ground and cannot grow well. So, if you are growing them in gardens, ensure that these plants have sturdy structures to climb on.
If you notice Brazilian nightshades growing next to taller plants, beware, since they can choke smaller plants in no time. As you can imagine, they do not need regular watering, fertilization, pruning, or pesticide treatments.
If you need to remove invasive plants from your gardens, you can remove them by hand plucking before they produce seeds. The plant is capable of self-seeding, growing new plants from seeds that fall to the ground and germinate.
The plants are closely related to other nightshades like Solanum lycopersicum or Tomatoes, Solanum tuberosum or Potatoes, Solanum erianthum or Potatotree, Solanum nigrum or Black Nightshade, and Solanum dimidiatum or Western horsenettle. Some of them are very common vegetables, and some of them are very toxic to humans!
Uses of Brazilian nightshade
These plants are said to have some medicinal uses in traditional herbal medicine, but any benefit they have is far outweighed by their toxicity. Hence, no part of the plant, including stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits, should be consumed.
Keep them away from children and pets who might get attracted to their bright, beautiful berries. They can be grown as ornamental plants in home gardens, provided they are given good supporting structures to grow on.
Since Brazilian nightshades grow very quickly, they can be trained to grow on screens or vertical structures that separate specific areas in the garden, giving it privacy. The flowers and berries are added bonuses to this benefit.
Propagation
Propagation is through seeds.
Ripe fruits can be harvested from healthy plants and dried in the sun to extract the seeds. These seeds can be planted in well-drained, moist soil to germinate in 6-7 days. While growing them in home gardens, beware of their toxicity and invasive growth.
Photographed at: GKVK University of Agriculture, Bangalore
