Solanaceae

Solanum marginatum

Common Names: White-edged nightshade

Plant Form: Shrub. Size: Up to 1.5 m tall. Stem: Silvery white when young with a covering of minute star-shaped hairs, maturing to dull green and smooth with scattered prickles. Leaves: Dull deep green with white edges and white hairy underside. Oval shaped with zig-zagging edges, prominent white veins, and yellow prickles. Flowers: White to pale pink, pentagonal shape with 5 lobes and yellow central columns. Fruit and Seeds: Globular fleshy berries, pale yellow to bright yellow with age. Tomato-like with several hundred brown seeds within. Habitat: Old gardens, roadsides, waste areas, dunes. Distinguishing Features: Differs from lookalike Apple-of-Sodom (Solanum linnaeanum) in having typically paler flowers, shorter prickles, and larger berries.