Solanaceae

Solanum linnaeanum

Common Names: Apple-of-Sodom

Plant Form: Erect spreading shrub. Size: 50 cm to 2 m tall. Stem: Green with covering of minute star-shaped hairs, and with scattered stout straw-coloured prickles about 1.5 cm long. Leaves: Alternately arranged along stems with short stalks, bright green, covered with minute star shaped hairs, deeply lobed and with numerous prickles. Flowers: Typical Solanum type flowers, purplish blue in clusters of 3-6 towards the end of branches between the leaves, prickles on supporting leaves. Fruit and Seeds: Globular, bright yellow when ripe then turning brown or black, to 3 cm diameter, fleshy or juicy, tomato like, drying with age. Habitat: Roadsides, urban bushland, waste areas, neglected land. Distinguishing Features: Similar in appearance to Narrawa burr (Solanum cinereum), but with no pale leaf underside, and fruits turn brown with age. Impacts: Restricts stock movement, unpalatable, outcompetes native species.