Hairy Nightshade

Herbs erect, 40-60 cm tall, much branched; pubescence of simple, sometimes glandular hairs. Stems pubescent, often angular. Petiole 5-10 mm, winged; leaf blade ovate to elliptic, 3-7 × 2-4 cm, sparsely pubescent, base cuneate, decurrent, margin entire, sinuate, or coarsely dentate, apex acute. Inflorescences extra-axillary, umbellate; peduncle 1 cm, unbranched. Pedicel 4-6 mm. Calyx 2 × 1-1.5 mm, puberulent; lobes obtuse, less than 1 mm, ciliate, sinuses rounded. Corolla white or purplish, sometimes drying yellowish, 5-7 × 8-10 mm; lobes ovate-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, ciliate, strongly spreading and reflexed. Filaments 1.5-1.8 mm, pubescent; anthers ca. 2 mm. Style 3-4.5 mm, pilose at base. Fruiting pedicel 1-1.5 cm, pubescent. Berry red, orange, or yellow, often bright, globose, 6-8 mm in diam. Seeds discoid, ca. 1 mm. Fr. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Nov.

Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Xinjiang, occasionally cultivated in Hebei [Afghanistan, India, Nepal; SW Asia, Europe].

Slopes, valleys, near roads, shady places; 100-1300 m.

Solanum alatum Moench; S. humile Bernhardi ex Willdenow; S. miniatum Bernhardi ex Willdenow; S. nigrum var. humile (Bernhardi ex Willdenow) C. Y. Wu & S. C. Huang.

Solanum villosum, the hairy nightshade, red nightshade or woolly nightshade, is a sprawling annual weed in Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, North America, and is also naturalized in Australia.