Solanum triflorum
| Solanum triflorum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Solanum triflorum (common name: cutleaf nightshade)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils in a sunny position[1].
This species is said to be a good companion for watermelons, it has been planted with them in order to make the watermelons more prolific and ripen earlier[2]. An infusion of the plant has been sprayed on the watermelons in order to make them more prolific and ripen earlier[2].
Range: N. America - Ontario to Manitoba, Kansas and New Mexico. Naturalized in Britain in Norfolk[3].
Habitat: Dry plains, open woods, roadsides etc[4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[5][6][7]. Used in times of food shortage[2]. Eaten as a fruit or vegetable, the fruit can also be dried, ground into a powder and used with cereals for making bread etc[8]. The ripe fruit can be boiled, mashed and mixed with ground chilli and salt then used as a condiment with mush or bread[2].
Medicinal: A decoction of the berries has been used in the treatment of stomach aches and for children with diarrhoea[2].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no specific mention of toxicity has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where many if not all the members have poisonous leaves and sometimes also the unripe fruits.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.