COMMUNITY NOTICE | HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PLANT | STICKY NIGHTSHADE
Published on 05 September 2024
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PLANT | STICKY NIGHT SHADE
Solanum sisymbriifolium
How does this weed affect us?
Sticky nightshade is an invasive plant that:
- competes with crops and pastures
- prevents native plants from growing
- has sharp prickles which can injure people, pets, livestock and native animals
- can make harvesting difficult (e.g. in vineyards)
- has seeds which are poisonous to humans
- contains toxins and is suspected to have caused cattle deaths.
Where are you likely to find it?
Sticky nightshade grows in full sun and semi-shade. It can grow in a wide variety of soil types but prefers moist soils.
Look for it:
- in pastures and on cultivated land
- along waterways and roadsides
- in dry sclerophyll forests on steep rocky slopes.
Sticky nightshade is mostly found in Western Sydney and the Central Tablelands. Isolated infestations have also been found in the Central West, South East, Hunter, North Coast, North West and Riverina regions.
What does it look like?
Sticky nightshade is an erect plant up to 1.5 m high. Most of the plant is covered in hairs and prickles.
Prickles are yellow to red, up to 1.3 cm long, and very sharp.
Leaves are sticky, green to yellowish on both sides, up to 14 cm long and 10 cm wide with deep lobes. Leaves are hairy and prickly on both sides. Leaf stalks are up to 4 cm long.
Flowers are star shaped with 5 white or pale bluish-purple petals that curve backwards, and bright yellow anthers in the centre. They are up to 5 cm in diameter and grow in groups of 4–12. Present during spring and summer.
Fruit are round berries, bright red when ripe and up to 2 cm in diameter. They are party enclosed by prickly leaf-like sepals that curve backwards when the fruit is ripe.
Seen it? Call us:
Weddin Shire Biosecurity Team
0458 022 102
NSW DPI Biosecurity Helpline
1800 680 244
