horsenettle
Family
SolanaceaeScientific Name
Solanum carolinense
Other Common Names:
bullnettle
Habit
A prickly plant with prickles on the stems and leaves, stems are upright and branching with a dense rhizomatous root system spreading as far as 1m. May reproduce by seed or rhizomes.
Leaves
Sandpaper like texture with prickles along stalks and veins usually having 2-3 lobes and hairs on both sides. 2.75 to 4.75 inches (7 to 12 cm) long and 1 to 3 inches (3 to 8 cm) wide.
Identifying Characteristics
White star shaped flowers similar to that of potato, prickles covering stems and leaves, with berry like fruit containing several small seeds.
Flower Seed Head
Appear in June, similar to potato, with white or purple petals and yellow center. They are found on the terminal end of a spiky branch.
Seed Fruit
Smooth round berries, like small tomatoes, that are green and then turn yellow when mature and contain 40-170 round, flat, orangish seeds.
Where Found
Spreading northward from the Southeastern United States to Canada and Texas, horsenettle likes dry sandy soils and is found in orchards, nursery crops, pastures, flower beds, open woodlands, and is sometimes found in conventional tillage situations.
Growth Habit
upright and nonwoody
Thorns or Spines
present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
white,
purple
Flower Symmetry
radial symmetery
Leaf Hairs
has hairs
Leaf Shape
Varies:
lance,
oval
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Margin
lobed
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
has hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
Varies:
fibrous,
taproot
Life Cycle
perennial
Plant Type
Herb