Solanum: Difference between revisions

The species most commonly called nightshade in North America and Britain is ''[[Solanum dulcamara]]'', also called bittersweet or woody nightshade (so-called because it is a ([[Vine|scandent]]) [[shrub]]). Its foliage and egg-shaped red berries are poisonous, the active principle being [[solanine]], which can cause convulsions and death if taken in large doses. Black nightshade (''[[Solanum nigrum]]'') is also generally considered poisonous, but its fully-ripened fruit and its foliage are both cooked and eaten in some areas. Deadly nightshade (''[[Atropa belladonna]]'') belongs, like ''Solanum'', to subfamily [[Solanoideae]] of the nightshade family, but, unlike that genus, is a member of [[Tribe (botany)|tribe]] [[Hyoscyameae]] (''Solanum'' belongs to tribe Solaneae).<ref>Armando T. Hunziker 2001: The Genera of Solanaceae. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag, Ruggell, Liechtenstein. {{ISBN|3-904144-77-4}}.</ref> The chemistry of ''[[Atropa]]'' species is very different from that of Solanum species and features the very toxic [[tropane alkaloid]]s, the best-known of which is [[atropine]].<ref>Frohne, Dietrich and Pfänder, Hans Jürgen. 1984 ''A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants : A Handbook for Pharmacists, Doctors, Toxicologists, and Biologists'' transl. from 2nd German ed. by Norman Grainger Bisset, London : Wolfe Atlases. Wolfe Publishing.</ref>