Common names:
Bittersweet, woody nightshade
Family:
Scientific name:
Solanum dulcamara
Main flower color:
Range:
Most of the UK; absent from high elevation areas, and far north Scotland
Height:
Up to 2 m; stems are weak, often using other plants for support
Habitat:
Hedgebanks, waste ground, pebble beach margins
Flowers:
The corolla has five equal-sized purple lobes, angled back towards the stalk, while at the centre is a fused column of long yellow anthers surrounding a longer, thin, whitish style, topped by a small stigma. The calyx is purplish-green, and shallowly lobed. Flowers are arranged in open clusters, and are attached by sparsely hairy stalks
Fruit:
Egg-shaped berries, initially green, ageing to red
Leaves:
Alternate, hairless, ovate, up to 8 cm long, stalked, often with two spreading lobes at the base, and sometimes another smaller pair lower down the stalk
Season:
May to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
