Click on images to enlarge
habit in flower (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
habit in fruit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
prickly stem and lower leaves (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
upper leaves and flowers (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
flower with long stamens (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
immature fruit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
mature fruit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
close-up of seeds (Photo: Steve Hurst at USDA PLANTS Database)
young plant (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
habit of quena (Solanum esuriale), a similar native species (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
close-up of the flower of quena (Solanum esuriale), with shorter stamens (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Scientific Name
Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav.
Family
Solanaceae
Common Names
bitter apple, bull nettle, bullnettle, prairie berry, silver horsenettle, silver leaf, silver leaf nettle, silver leaf nightshade, silver nightshade, silver-leaf bitter apple, silverleaf bitter apple, silver-leaf nettle, silver-leaf nightshade, silverleaf nightshade, silver-leaved nightshade sand briar, tomato weed, white horse nettle, white horsenettle
Origin
Native to southern South America (i.e. Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) and possibly also parts of North America (i.e. Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, south-western Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and northern Mexico).
Naturalised Distribution
A widely naturalised species that is mainly found in the southern regions of Australia. It is most common in the sub-coastal and inland regions of New South Wales, in Victoria and in south-eastern South Australia. Also relatively common in south-western Western Australia and occasionally found in inland southern Queensland. It has also been recorded in other parts of these states and in the southern parts of the Northern Territory.
Notes
Silver-leaved nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) is a weed of crops and cultivation, pastures, roadsides, disturbed sites and waste areas in semi-arid, temperate and sub-tropical regions. While it is primarily a weed of agricultural areas, silver-leaved nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) is also a weed of native pastures and rangeland plant communities, and is occasionally also found in other natural environments. During a recent survey, it was listed as a priority environmental weed in four Natural Resource Management regions.
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