Horse Nettle

Order: Solanales

Family: Solanaceae

Genus: Solanum

Species: S. carolinense

Identifying Characteristics:

- This native perennial plant is up to 3' tall, branching occasionally.

- The stems have scattered white or yellow spines.

- The alternate leaves are up to 6" long and 3" across, and have short petioles. They are broadly lanceolate or ovate, but rather angular along the margins, which are slightly ciliate. There are white hairs and scattered spines along the central vein on the underside of each leaf.

- The upper stems terminate in small clusters of star-shaped flowers with hairy pedicels. These flowers are white or light violet, about 3/4 in across, and have 5 petals that are united at the base.

- round fruits develop that are a little more than ½" across and half-enclosed by a papery calyx. They become yellow when mature, but are not edible to humans. Each fruit contains numerous seeds that are glossy yellow and flattened.

Special Adaptations:

-The preference is full sun and moist to dry conditions. Horse Nettle grows readily in loamy or sandy soil, and probably other soil types as well. It is a rather weedy plant that can become aggressive at disturbed sites.

-Habitats include mesic to dry black soil prairies, clay prairies, sand prairies, openings and edges of woodlands, abandoned fields, areas along roadsides and railroads, yards and gardens, vacant lots, and other waste areas. This plant is most typically observed in disturbed areas, but can be found occasionally even in high quality habitats.

-Bumblebees visit the flowers to collect pollen

-The caterpillars of the day-flying moth Synanthedon rileyana (Riley's Clearwing) feed on Horse Nettle.

-The mature yellow fruits are eaten, to a limited extent, by the Ring-Necked Pheasant, Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Eastern Striped Skunk, and possibly small rodents, thereby promoting the distribution of the seeds and spread of this plant. They are apparently more immune to the reduced toxicity of the mature fruit than humans.