Horsenettle

April 20th, 2008

Botanical Name: Solanum carolinense (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Solanaceae
Synonyms: Bull Nettle. Treadfoot. Sand Brier. Apple of Sodom. Poisonous Potato.
Parts Used: Air-dried ripe berries, root.
Habitat: United States of America. This weed is a hardy, coarse perennial, found growing in waste sandy ground as far west as Iowa and south to Florida. This weed prefers sandy soils, and grows in meadows, pastures, waste places, and cultivated fields.

Description:
Horsenettle, also called “bull nettle” is a perennial reproducing by seed and rhizomes. It is a deep-rooted plant reaching up to 8 feet in depth. It has horizontal rootstocks from which the plant spreads. The stem is erect, loosely branched, and covered with gray hairs and yellow spines. The plants grow from ½ to 2 feet tall. The leaves are dark green, egg-shaped, pointed on the tip, and sharply lobed or wavy-toothed. The tomato-like flowers are 5-lobed, violet, and borne in 1-sided clusters. The berry is 3/8 to 5/8 inch in diameter, yellow, juicy, naked and contains numerous seeds. The seeds are about 1/16th inch in diameter, irregularly oval, flattened, glossy yellow, and granular. Bears orange yellow berries which is the most active part of the plant, they are glabrous and fleshy, with an odour like pepper, taste, bitter and acrid.

The plant blooms from June to September and matures seed from July to September.

Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong to oval, and each is irregularly lobed or coarsely toothed. Both surfaces are covered with fine hairs. The flowers have five petals and are usually white or purple with yellow centers, though there is a blue variant that resembles the tomato flower. The fruits also resemble tomatoes. The immature fruit is dark green with light green stripes, turning yellow and wrinkled as it matures. Each fruit contains around 60 seeds.

Constituents: Probably Solanine and Solanidine and an organic acid.

Medicinal Action and Uses:Despite it’s toxicity this and other closely related Nightshades have been use medicinally. According to Foster & Duke the berries have been use to treat epilepsy and pain as a diuretic, antispasmodic, and aphrodisiac. The leaves have been used as an analgesic, poulticed on injuries or dermatitis or gargled for sore throats. The Cherokees used berries fried in grease as an ointment for mange in dogs and tied roots around baby’s neck for teething, perhaps soothing the pain.Warning: All parts of this species are toxic and should not be taken internally without expert guidance. It contains poisonous aldaloids including solanine.

Sedative, antispasmodic; has long been used by the Southern negroes in the treatment ofepilepsy; is a useful remedy in infantile convulsions and menstrual hysteria, has no unpleasant effects, but its usefulness is said to be limited, unless given with bromides.

Preparations and Dosages: Fluid drachm three times a day. Berries are given in doses of 5 to 60 grains. Root, 10 grains.

Lore: Cherokee used it as an insecticide to kill flies by putting crushed leaves in sweet milk.
Precautions:All parts of the plant are poisonous. Children and cattle have been poisoned by eating the green fruit. The mature fruit is reputedly non-poisonous or less poisonous. Horsenettle can seriously poison livestock and even humans if ingested. The berries are the most toxic part of the plant. Horsenettle also competes for sunlight and nutrients with other native plants.

Management Methods: Methods of horsenettle control fall into three categories: cultural, such as crop rotation, mechanical, such as tillage with plows, disks, or cultivators, and chemical, using herbicides. Control of horsenettle may require a combination of all of these methods. Always use herbicides carefully and be sure to read the label.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hornet37.html

http://www.johnson-county.com/secondaryroads/WeedComm/WeedSpecies/horsenettle.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_horsenettle

http://2bnthewild.com/plants/H185.htm