Douglas' Nightshade, Solanum douglasii

About Douglas' Nightshade (Solanum douglasii) 2 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Solanum douglasii is a species of nightshade known by the common name greenspot nightshade. It is native to the northern half of Mexico and the southwestern south-central United States. Its habitat includes scrub and woodland. Solanum douglasii is a perennial herb or subshrub approaching two meters in maximum height. The stem is coated in short, white hairs. The leaves may be up to 9 centimeters long and have smooth or toothed edges. The inflorescence is an umbel-shaped array of flowers with star-shaped white corollas up to a centimeter wide. There are generally green spots at the bases of the corolla lobes. The yellow anthers are a few millimeters in length. Flowers may be seen blooming throughout much of the year. The fruit is a spherical berry up to a centimeter wide. Native Americans used the juice of the berries medicinally, and as dye for tattooing.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

3.5 - 7 ft tall

Flower Color

White, Lavender

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 33 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica

Carolina Sphinx Manduca sextaManduca sexta

Armyworm Moth Mythimna unipunctaMythimna unipuncta

Subterranean Dart Feltia subterraneaFeltia subterranea

Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabellaPyrrharctia isabella

Ipsilon Dart Agrotis ipsilonAgrotis ipsilon

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Extremely Low, Very Low

Nurseries

Carried by 2

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Common uses

Bird Gardens

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment; sow outdoors in late summer. Spring sowing gives fair

Natural Setting

Site Type

Dry places

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 59.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.12", Coldest Month: 32.4" - 58.3", Hottest Month: 58.4" - 87.8", Humidity: 0.01" - 38.88", Elevation: -53" - 6869"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Green-spot Nightshade, Greenspot Nightshade

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Douglas' Nightshade

Solanum douglasii

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Douglas' NightshadeSolanum douglasii

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Douglas' Nightshade

Solanum douglasii