Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties
Uses | Warning | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Solanum carolinense L.
- Nightshade family
Common Names
- Horse-nettle
Parts Usually Used
Leaves
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
A weed of the nightshade family, with yellow prickles. Five parted flowers are violet to white stars; May to October. Fruits orange to yellow berries resembling tiny tomatoes are considered poisonous; August to September. Perennial; 1-4 feet tall. Stems sharp-spined. Leaves oval to elliptical; lobed to coarse-toothed.
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Where Found
Sandy soil. Old fields, farmlands, barnyards, waste places. New England to Florida; Texas to South Dakota.
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Medicinal Properties
Diuretic, antispasmodic.
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Uses
Once used in folk medicine:
Properly administered, berries were once used for epilepsy. Berries fried in grease were used as an ointment for dog’s mange. Native Americans gargled wilted leaf tea for sore throats; poulticed leaves for poison-ivy rash; drank tea for worms.
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Warning
This herb is potentially fatal. Toxic. Fatalities reported in children. This herb should not be used without proper medical supervision.
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Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
Webster’s New World Dictionary
