Because of its many spines, the forage value of Carolina horse nettle is poor for wildlife and livestock. Home → Survival → Food → Edible Plants Nettles: There are several species of nettles. Leaves smell like potatoes when crushed. Each fruit contains around 60 seeds. Primary noxious weed Nevada. [4][5] The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with spines. This page only shows Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) and Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis).For contrast, two similar plants are shown at the bottom that are often confused with these species: Horse Balm (Collinsonia canadensis) and False Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica). Younger Carolina Bristle Mallow leaves are more deeply cleft/lobed than mature leaves. [11], Parasitic nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus have been found on lesions on its roots, however causing little damage. The caterpillars of the day-flying moth Synanthedon rileyana (Riley's Clearwing) feed on Horse Nettle. The leaves feel coarse and the stem is hairy. [9] The caterpillars of the Synanthedon rileyana moth[8] and the Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm) moth feeds on the plant. Bumble bees pollinate the flowers of this species. [7], These plants can be found growing in pastures, roadsides, railroad margins, and in disturbed areas and waste ground. Though there are other horsenettle nightshades, S. carolinense is the species most commonly called "the horsenettle". Horsenettle is part of the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes and potatoes. The scientific name is Solanum carolinense, and it is regarded as one of the most challenging plants to eradicate because it resists most efforts at control. At least thirty-two insects, as well as the meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus, have been recorded feeding on this species in Virginia alone. Carolina horsenettle is commonly found in the southeastern United States. "Horsenettle" is also written "horse nettle" or "horse-nettle", though USDA publications usually use the one-word form. Carolina nightshade (Solanum carolinense), also known as horsenettle, is a perennial weed that is a member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family.It is a common contaminate of horse pastures and poor quality hay bales in the southeastern United States. The Tropical Soda Apple has larger leaves and long thorns and is more shrubby. However, in these parts, there is also the Horse Nettle, Solanum carolinense, which contains solanine, a dangerous substance to ingest. Blades, which alternate, are up to 10.0 cm l… I second Tyler's call to use the latin, and be sure of the id. Locally, a common nightshade is Carolina Horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense), the plant with … EUROPEAN AND MEDITERRANEAN PLANT PROTECTION ORGANIZATION, ЕВРОПЕЙСКАЯ И СРЕДИЗЕМНОМОРСКАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ПО КАРАНТИНУ И ЗАЩИТЕ РАСТЕНИЙ, ORGANISATION EUROPEENNE ET MEDITERRANEENNE POUR LA PROTECTION DES PLANTES, Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong to oval, Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map, "Identification and Control of Horsenettle, Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense), Illinois Wildflowers. The fungus Rhizoctonia solani was found causing root rot, particularly under wet conditions in plants damaged by trampling. The fruits also resemble tomatoes. apple of Sodom. This plant should be used with caution, see the notes above on toxicity. All branches and stems are sharp, hard and have 5 mm long spikes. Phonetic Spelling so-LAN-num kair-oh-lin-EN-say This plant has medium severity poison characteristics. The stem is long and not heavily branching; it is covered in 2.0 - 4.0 mm long spines. It is propagated by underground creeping rhizomes as well as by seed dispersal, often involving animals as vectors. Horse-nettle Scouting and Prevention: Horsenettle has an erect stem that stands about 60 to 100 cm tall with a few branches that are covered with tiny hairs at the top of the plant. Other common names include radical weed, sand brier or briar, bull nettle, tread-softly, Solanum mammosum ("apple of Sodom"), devil's tomato and wild tomato. Wise, Christopher F. Sacchi, "Impact of two specialist insect herbivores on reproduction of horse nettle, "Insects, Nematodes, and Pathogens Associated with Horsenettle (, "Plants Profile for Solanum carolinense (Carolina horsenettle)", Texas A&M University, AgriLife Research & Extension Center at Uvalde, Carolina Horse Nettle, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solanum_carolinense&oldid=994048096, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The leaves are usually shallowly lobed and up to about 5 inches long. A Loja de Saúde do Prado, está sediada na Vila de Prado e tem uma Filial em Vila Verde, que oferece uma gama completa de produtos para todos os tipos de situações ortopédicas, anca, coluna, joelho, tornozelo, mão, cotovelo, ombro, punho e pé. [10] Anthonomus nigrinus feeds on the flowers, and Trichobaris trinotata bores into the stems. The leaves of the horsenettle plant contain prickly fibers making it undesirable to many animals, but ingestion does happen occasionally. This moth is a wasp mimic. The berries and the root are anodyne, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac and diuretic [4, 222]. One reason the Iowa noxious weed list hasn’t been brought up for reform and updating, as many professionals know it should be, is because of fear that the Legislature could easily make the list worse instead of better. ... We have a growing amount of horse nettle in our pastures–likely because our cows don’t eat it so unless we get it clipped at the right stage, it is seeding out and spreading. If indeed your "nettle" is U. dioica, then yes it is most certainly an edible. It is resistant to many postemergent herbicides and somewhat resistant to broad-spectrum herbicides such as glyphosate and 2,4-D. The mature yellow fruits are eaten, to a limited extent, by the Ring-Necked Pheasant, Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Eastern Striped Skunk, and possibly small rodents, thereby promoting the distribution of the seeds and spread of this plant. Some familiar members of this family include to-bacco, tomato and potato. Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong to oval, 2.5 to 4.5 inches (6.4 to 11.4 centimetres) long, and each is irregularly lobed or coarsely toothed. The root system has creeping underground rhizomes, which are responsible for the vegetative spread of this plant. [3] It has also been found in parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia. Most mammals avoid eating the stems and leaves due to both the spines and toxicity of the plant.[8]. Horsenettle, Solanum Carolinense, is similar looking to the Tropical Soda Apple but is a smaller plant. The Solanaceae family includes the Irish potato. The beetle Leptinotarsa juncta specializes on this plant, and the beetle Epitrix fuscula (eggplant flea beetle) eats it as well. These are 12mm to 15mm in diameter; they may be up to 20mm. Michael J. Saying it’s not edible because my cows don’t eat it is the same as saying, vegetables aren’t edible because my 3 year old won’t eat them. Close-up of flower and seedpod. Carolina horse-nettle, horse-nettle, or bull-nettle (S. carolinense) (Figure 2) is a low-growing perennial herbaceous plant with a typical height between 0.3 and 1.3 m (Great Plains Flora Association 1986:647; Peterson and McKenny 1996:324; Steyermark 1981:1313). The plant grows to 3 feet (91 cm) tall, is perennial, and spreads by both seeds and underground rhizome. They are most vigorous and most likely to become weedy or dominate on disturbed sites, but can also be found in less disturbed habitats.[8]. Having Carolina horse nettle on the same list as major threats like multiflora rose is absurd. They grow to about 1 m (39 in) tall, but are typically shorter, existing as subshrubs. Manduca sexta moths prefer inbred plants to outbred plants. [11], Fruits are eaten by a variety of native animals, including ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite, wild turkey, and striped skunk. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to the southeastern United States that has spread widely throughout much of temperate North America. Horsenettle flowers can be purple or white where Tropical Soda Apple has only white blossoms. Solanum carolinense L. – Carolina horsenettle Subordinate Taxa. Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance, the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). The fruits are benefical to wildlife. However, ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. They have been used in the treatment of epilepsy [207, 222]. [6], All parts of the plant, including its tomato-like fruit, are poisonous to varying degrees due to the presence of solanine glycoalkaloids which is a toxic alkaloid and one of the plant's natural defenses. 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