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Solanum nigrum - L.

Black Nightshade

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Solanum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	There is a lot of disagreement over whether or not the leaves or fruit of this plant are poisonous. Views vary from relatively poisonous to perfectly safe to eat. The plant is cultivated as a food crop, both for its fruit and its leaves, in some parts of the world and it is probably true to say that toxicity can vary considerably according to where the plant is grown and the cultivar that is being grown[4, 7, 10, 13, 65, 76]. The unripe fruit contains the highest concentration of toxins[65].
Range	Found throughout most of the world, including Britain.
Habitat	Uncultivated and waste land[7]. It is a common garden weed.
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit; Leaves.

Fruit - cooked[2, 27, 89, 179]. Used in preserves, jams and pies[183]. A pleasant musky taste[85]. Somewhat like a tomato, but much less pleasant, it improves slightly after a frost[K]. Only the fully ripe fruits should be used, the unripe fruits contain the toxin solanine[65, 173, 183]. The fruit contains about 2.5% protein, 0.6% fat, 5.6% carbohydrate, 1.2% ash[179]. The fruit is about 9mm in diameter[200]. Young leaves and new shoots - raw or cooked as a potherb or added to soups[2, 27, 85, 89, 173, 179, 183]. This plant is cultivated as a leaf crop in some areas, but see the notes at the top of the page regarding possible toxicity.

Composition

Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Leaves (Fresh weight)

• 42 Calories per 100g
• Water: 86.4%
• Protein: 4g; Fat: 0.7g; Carbohydrate: 7.6g; Fibre: 1.6g; Ash: 1.7g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 210mg; Phosphorus: 70mg; Iron: 5mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 2000mg; Thiamine (B1): 0.15mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.15mg; Niacin: 1.2mg; B6: 0mg; C: 43mg;
• Reference: [218]
• Notes: The figures given here are the median of a wide range given in the report.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antiperiodic; Antiphlogistic; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emollient; Febrifuge; Narcotic; Purgative; Sedative.

The whole plant is antiperiodic, antiphlogistic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, febrifuge, narcotic, purgative and sedative[4, 21, 145, 147, 192, 218]. It is harvested in the autumn when both flowers and fruit are upon the plant, and is dried for later use[4]. Use with caution[21], see notes above on toxicity. The leaves, stems and roots are used externally as a poultice, wash etc in the treatment of cancerous sores, boils, leucoderma and wounds[218, 257]. Extracts of the plant are analgesic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and vasodilator[218]. The plant has been used in the manufacture of locally analgesic ointments and the juice of the fruit has been used as an analgesic for toothaches[7].

Other Uses

Soil reclamation.

This species has been found to be effective in removing PCB's from the soil and detoxifying them[248]. The plant is more effective in doing this if it is infected with the bacterial parasite Agrobacterium tumefaciens[248].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[1]. Dislikes shade[1]. Flowers are formed on the old wood[206]. Very tolerant of dry conditions[206]. Caterpillars and slugs are particularly fond of this plant and can totally destroy it[K]. Grows well with clover[18]. Does not grow well with wormwood or white mustard and, when these plants are growing close to S. nigra, they increase its content of toxic alkaloids[18]. Some forms of this plant are cultivated for their edible fruits or leaves[200], see notes about possible toxicity at the top of this page. The leaves of one form are sold in local markets in Greece[148].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. The seed can also be sown in a greenhouse during the spring if required. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out in late spring.

Cultivars

No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[10] Altmann. H. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus 1980 ISBN 0-7011-2526-8
A small book, reasonable but not very detailed.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[145] Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976
A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press 0 ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[148] Niebuhr. A. D. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America. 1970
A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[192] Emboden. W. Narcotic Plants Studio Vista 1979 ISBN 0-289-70864-8
A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[248] Anderson. A. New Scientist IPC Magazines Ltd, London 1997 ISBN 0262-4079
A short item on a couple of soil reclamation plants, Atropa belladonna and Solanum nigrum

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Martha Díaz B Thu Jun 28 17:02:26 2001

We reciently recieved this article on the use of various weeds in south america. We though that you might enjoy it.

Abstract

Weeds may constitute an additional food source for humans. Up to 66% of weed species are edible and abound in urban and agricultural environments. A total of 43 species were sampled in tropical areas in Coatepec Mexico (e.g. roadsides, urban vacant lots, streets, sugar cane and coffee plantations). A similar survey performed in a temperate area in Bariloche Argentina with 32 species sampled. At a greater geographic scale, a comparison between Mexican and Argentine weeds shows that, proportionately, the food parts vary a little between regions. In general, the uses go from leaves, seeds, roots, fruits, and flowers.

Link: Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Klaus Thu Aug 16 16:12:55 2001

I really wonder what this has to do with montia perfoliata. The edible uses of weeds might be interesting, but not as a comment to this plant.

Solanum nigrum

Miles Irving Thu Apr 13 2006

Book about potential use of this Black Nightshade species

Solanum nigrum

margie Wed Jun 4 2008

i would like to know the use of solamargine and solasonine as principal constituents, the standard and quality control. thanks

Solanum nigrum

Sun Aug 16 2009

I used to eat these fruits years ago. They're pretty good and not poisonous when ripe.

Solanum nigrum

Susan Holdsworth Thu Aug 27 2009

Could you let me know if solanum nigrum is poisonous to pigs and other animals. I want to graze pigs in the area which I have cultivated and grown root crops but if is full of solanum nigrum. may thanks, Sue Holdsworth

Solanum nigrum

david (volunteer) Thu Aug 27 2009

According to "The Poisonous Plants of New Zealand" by H.E.Conner the ripe berries and plant are generally considered to be non-toxic unless fed to starved animals. The green berries contain the toxin solanine, there have been cases of poisoning in cattle and lambs (no specific mention of pigs)but many reports of grazing with no ill effect. It may accumulate toxic levels of nitrates, (no reports of this in New Zealand I don't know about elsewhere) Symptoms: staggers and delirium, peroidic convulsions, blindness, gastro-enteric: salivation, bleeding, diarrhoea. See also notes at top of this page.

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