Horse nettle (Solanum carolinense)
Tracheophyte: Angiosperm: Dicot: Nightshade (Solanaceae)
Native North American Plant
Habitat: full sun sites with well drained soil.
ID Features: yellow fruit, lamp shade-shaped flowers, needles on stems.
Natural History: Horse nettle is an obnoxious weed armed with both toxins and needles. The needles are brittle and will often break off beneath the skin upon plant physical contact with the plant. The mature yellow berries it produces are reportedly nonpoisonous but the immature green fruit and leaves contain the toxin solanine. Its mature fruit are used by some herbalists as a sedative. Solanine ingestion can cause nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, and in severe cases, death.
