Family | Solanaceae

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Gardening | Plant ID

The nightshades

The nightshades, are an economically important family of flowering plants. The family ranges from annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of important agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic.

Silver-leaved nightshade, white horsenettle, Solanum eleagnaefolium

While walking along our local trail, I photographed several endemic natives and a few non-native plants that make-up a restored blackland prairie ecosystem. You can observe birds fly into grassy areas and insects pollinating flowers. The etymology of the word "prairie," is French from Latin and the English equivalent is meadow. A meadow or prairie is populated with grasses and shrubby plants.The Texas Blackland Prairies are named after the dark, rich soil.This grassland ecoregion is found running about 300 miles from the Red River in North Texas south to San Antonio.

Silver-leaved nightshade, white horsenettle, (Solanum eleagnaefolium) fruit

Datura                                                                                  

Datura

 Datura
Seed Pod

Brugmansia                                                                             

Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)

Many members of the Solanum family—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers, and tobacco—are widely used.

The Litchi Tomato 
Litchi tomatoes, also known as Morelle de Balbis shrub, isn’t standard fare at the local garden center or nursery. It is neither a litchi nor a tomato and is difficult to find in North America. Online suppliers are your best bet for starts or seed. Get to know what is a litchi tomato, and then give it a try in your garden.

Morelle de Balbis translates to nightshade by Balbis. Giovanni Battista Balbis (17 November 1765 – 3 February 1831) was an Italian botanist and politician who worked in Italy and France. He alternately was called Gioanni Battista Balbis and Jean-Baptiste Balbis.

Growing eggplants can be a very rewarding experience especially if you are a big fan of Italian cuisine. This year we are growing, Millionaire, a Japanese style eggplant and Fairy tale eggplant, a miniature eggplant. Both prefer a hot, sunny location. Eggplant is a brilliant culinary thrill for summertime. It is a relative of potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, otherwise known as nightshades. The most popular dish, eggplant Parmesan is a staple menu item in Italian cuisine. The origin of the dish is claimed by both the Southern regions of Campania and Sicily

Eggplant Millionaire (Solanum melongena var. esculentum)

Eggplant Millionaire (Solanum melongena var. esculentum) flower

Capsicum, Chilies and Peppers   

~  Grassroots Horticulture ~

2022

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Datura

Datura

Drama, Drama, Drama. The Datura puts on a show that is definitely an Academy Award winner. Our local Post office has a bed of Datura planted in an alcove in the front of the building. It is in a northern exposure. The very large, trumpet-shaped flowers unfurl and are showy in the evening as well as the morning. 

Leaf

The large white flower then produces
this seed pod.

Seed Pod Datura 
Texas Native

It is very easy to start from seed. The datura plant can be found throughout Texas in floodplains and bottomless, East Texas to the Trans-Pecos. It will grow in a well-drained loam, sand, clay, or calcareous. It prefers lighting conditions of part shade to full sun.

Datura is one of those plants that has a form that looks best with a strong backdrop and frontal support.  The datura above was observed at the Dallas Arboretum. Every time I visit the garden I find new ideas.

Datura

I designed this east facing datura bed three years ago. It receives reflective heat from a brick wall and pea rock bed. It was cut back in the winter to approximately three feet and the wall serves to protect it in the winter. It is an amazing sight, especially in the evening. (Zone 7b-8a).

Use white flowers for a night garden.

The shadow of Datura projected on the fence.

I love the shadow the Datura threw on the fence, kind of an abstract or stylized projection.  What a fun addition this is to a night garden. Imagine a long row of fencing with white flowers or foliage, back lighted, and a gentle breeze diffusing the wonderful scent and the dancing shadows on the fence. 

There is often confusion between Datura and Brugmansia. The datura flower faces upward and Brugmansia hangs downward. I have seen datura called angels trumpet and devil snare. The vespertine flower opens at night and is closely associated with the moon so it is also sometime referred to as moonflower. Those are the mysteries of the night.

The Scent is lovely and is subtle, subtle, subtle.

These flowers are so beautiful and often missed because they open at night and close in the morning. You can share the beauty of these and other beautiful flowers.

A great gift idea for friend or family, hospitalized or shut-in, is to add personalized flowers and portraits to an electronic frame and include an extra battery with the gift.  

The importance of shadows
Eratosthenes who lived in Alexandria, Egypt calculated the circumference of the earth first noting that the sun at noon cast no shadow on statues then traveling 500 miles away to Syene and noting the shadows cast a shadow of 7 degrees at noon he then calculated that there were 360 degrees in a circle therefore calculated that the earth's circumference must be 25,500 miles. This was not entirely correct but very close.

Angel's Trumpet

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Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)

Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)

This is in the Nightshade family, and as with most nightshade plants can be toxic. I have started this from seed for myself and a neighbor successfully by placing it directly in the soil in the spring.
The overall plant has a coarse texture but the flowers are remarkably beautiful. They are sweetly fragrant, about 12 in (30.5 cm) long and shaped like trumpets. The corolla has five points that are slightly recurved. The flowers are usually white but may be yellow or pink and are pendulous, hanging almost straight down

***Many nightshades are poisonous to people as well as to cattle, horses and sheep. Some municipalities have banned the use of specific nightshades as landscape plants.

References

Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski p. 184-185.
Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984)   Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller

Family | Solanaceae

Datura pronunciation: day-TOO-rah

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In the Dark | Nightshades

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Lights Out

Nightshades

Datura

What do you do to get out of the heat  of the summer? Go to the movies. Right? So to celebrate Labor Day weekend here is a post with a movie theme.

Drama, Drama, Drama. The Datura puts on a show that is definitely an Academy Award winner. Our local Post office has a bed of Datura planted in an alcove in the front of the building. It is in a northern exposure. The very large, trumpet-shaped flowers unfurl and are showy in the evening as well as the morning. 

Purple Preview

Nightshades
Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)

Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia)

This is in the Nightshade family, and as with most nightshade plants can be toxic. I have started this from seed for myself and a neighbor successfully by placing it directly in the soil in the spring.
The overall plant has a coarse texture but the flowers are remarkably beautiful. They are sweetly fragrant, about 12 in (30.5 cm) long and shaped like trumpets. The corolla has five points that are slightly recurved. The flowers are usually white but may be yellow or pink and are pendulous, hanging almost straight down.

  

Lighting and Special Effects

Ending Shots

White Flower Datura
Seed Pod

Seed Pod Datura 
Texas Native

This could be a Chick Flick with a big and happy Ending. It is very easy to start from seed.

*Many nightshades are poisonous to people as well as to cattle, horses and sheep. Some municipalities have banned the use of specific nightshades as landscape plants.


Family | Solanaceae




Additional Resources:

• LBWC, Texas
• International Brugmansia Society (IBADS), Florida

©  Grassroots Horticulture

2000-2015

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