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Solanum dulcamara

 
Solanum Dulcamara

 
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Solanum dulcamara
 
 
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Solanum dulcamara, also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade, is a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of vine in the potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
 genus Solanum
Solanum

Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual plant and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, sub-shrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers....
, family Solanaceae
Solanaceae

The Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants, that contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear....
.






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Solanum dulcamara, also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade, is a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of vine in the potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
 genus Solanum
Solanum

Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual plant and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, sub-shrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers....
, family Solanaceae
Solanaceae

The Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants, that contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear....
. It is native to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and widely naturalised elsewhere, including North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, where it is an invasive
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
 problem weed
WEED

WEED is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA, it serves the area. The station is currently owned by Northstar Broadcasting Corporation....
. It occurs in a very wide range of habitats
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
, from woodland
Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is an area covered in trees, usually at low density, forming an open habitat, allowing sunlight to penetrate between the trees, and limiting shade....
s to scrubland
Scrubland

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation. Scrubland consists of shrubs, mixed with grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Scrublands may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity....
, hedge
Hedge (gardening)

A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and tree species, planted and trained in such a way as to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area....
s and marsh
Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood . Typically the water is shallow and features Poaceaees, Juncaceaees, Phragmites, typhas, Cyperaless, and other herbaceous plants....
es. It is an invasive species in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
 region and was first spotted in 1843.

Bittersweet is a semi-wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
y herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
 perennial
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 vine
Vine

A vine is any plant of genus Grape or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vinea, referred to the grape-bearing variety....
, which scrambles over other plants, capable of reaching a height of 4 m where suitable support is available, but more often 1-2 m high. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are 4-12 cm long, roughly arrowhead-shaped, and often lobed at the base. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are in loose clusters of 3-20, (1-1.5 cm) across, star-shaped, with five purple petals and yellow stamens and style pointing forward. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is an ovoid red berry
Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
 about 1 cm long, soft and juicy, poisonous to humans and livestock but edible for bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, which disperse the seeds widely. As with most Solanum species, the foliage is also poisonous to humans.

Bittersweet is used in naturopathy and herbalism
Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy....
. Its main usage is for conditions that have an impact on the skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
, mucous membrane
Mucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of mostly germ layer origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organ ....
 and the membrane (synovial membrane) around the joints. Bittersweet is considered by some to be a herbal remedy for treating herpes and allergies.

Although fatal human poisonings are rare, several cases have been documented. The poison is believed to be solanine
Solanine

Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family, such as potatoes. It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers....
.

Other common names for Solanum dulcamara include trailing nightshade, bittersweet, trailing bittersweet, climbing nightshade, blue bindweed, bitter nightshade, fellenwort, dogwood, woody nightshade, poisonflower, poisonberry, snakeberry, and scarlet berry.

The name bittersweet is also used in some areas for some species in the genus Celastrus (elsewhere referred to as the staff vine
Staff vine

The staff vines, also known as staff trees or bittersweet, genus Celastrus, comprise about 30 species of shrubs and vines....
s, family Celastraceae
Celastraceae

The Celastraceae , is a family of about 90-100 genera and 1,300 species of vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genus are tropical, with only Celastrus , Euonymus and Maytenus widespread in temperate climates....
), e.g. american bittersweet
Staff vine

The staff vines, also known as staff trees or bittersweet, genus Celastrus, comprise about 30 species of shrubs and vines....
 (Celastrus scandens) and oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus).

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