Bittersweet nightshade

Solanum dulcamara · Aquatic plants

Whole plant · Photo: Andrew Thomas / CC BY-SA

IntroducedShorelineCan produce toxins

Also called Woody nightshade, Climbing nightshade, European bittersweet

Can produce toxins

Only a lab test shows whether a bloom is toxic. Keep people, pets and livestock out of discolored or scummy water until it is tested.

How to identify Bittersweet nightshade

Climbing or sprawling vine with a woody base
Leaves often with two small earlike lobes at the base
Purple, star shaped flowers with a yellow center
Berries turn from green to bright red

Similar plants

Black nightshade is an upright annual with white flowers and black berries.

Growth profile

Growing season	Leafs out in spring, flowers May to September, and red berries hang from late summer into winter.
Starts growing	Spring
Light	Part shade to full sun
Depth	Moist banks and the water edge
How it spreads	Seeds spread by birds and stems that root where they touch the ground
Habitat	Pond and stream banks, wet thickets, willow and cattail edges and ditches.

Why it matters in a lake

Berries and leaves are poisonous to people, pets and livestock, and the bright red berries attract children. A common tangling vine in willows and cattails at the pond edge.