Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Western horse-nettle

WESTERN HORSE-NETTLE

File Size: 48 KB

Solanum dimidiatum Raf.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 12-40 inches

Family: Solanaceae - Nightshade Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July, August, September

Also Called:

Potato-weed.

Stems:

Erect, often branched above, light gray, tiny star-shaped pubescence, sparsely prickly; prickles to 1/4 inch long, flat, yellowish.

Leaves:

Alternate, egg-shaped to elliptic-lanceolate, 2.4 to 6 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide, surfaces covered with tiny star-shaped hairs; margins irregularly wavy; stalks short, stout.

Inflorescences:

Racemes or 2-3 raceme-like clusters, terminal.

Flowers:

Calyces 6-lobed, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long; lobes short-ovate, tips tapering to long points; corollas more or less wheel-shaped, 1 to 2 inches broad, 5-lobed, bluish-purple or rarely white; lobes ovate, spreading; samens 5, anthers erect, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, converging but not united.

Fruits:

Berries, spherical, about 1 inch in diameter, pale yellow; seeds numerous, oval, yellowish-brown.

Habitat:

Prairies, fields, open woods, roadsides, and waste areas.

Distribution:

South 2/3 of the east 1/2 of Kansas.

Toxicity:

Toxic to livestock. Known to cause "crazy cow syndrome". Symptoms include staggering, tremors, and lack of coordination. The animal will collapse when frightened and struggle to stand until it has rested for a time. The condition is not lethal but is a permanent disability. Affected animals are susceptible to drowning if frightened in water. The syndrome is not common.

See Carolina horse-nettle Solanum carolinense.

Western horse-nettle flower