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Buffalobur nightshade

Solanum rostratum

Also called Buffalo bur, Spiny nightshade, Colorado bur, Kansas thistle, Bad woman, Mexican thistle, Texas thistle

Buffalobur nightshade
Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0

Buffalobur nightshade is a spiny annual weed in the nightshade family, native to the US and Mexico, that grows about 1 to 1.5 m tall and can form tumbleweeds. It is grown mainly as a wild or weedy plant rather than a garden ornamental.

Family
Solanaceae (Nightshade family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Needs little water once established; it tolerates dry conditions.
Soil
Tolerates poor, dry, sandy or disturbed soils.
Temperature
Warm conditions suit it; it is an annual that dies with frost.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: The berries and other parts contain solanine-type alkaloids and can cause poisoning if eaten.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
C. & S. U.S.A. to Mexico
Climate
subtropical

About

Solanum rostratum is a species of nightshade (genus Solanum) that is native to the United States and northern and central Mexico. Common names include buffalobur nightshade, buffalo-bur, spiny nightshade, Colorado bur, Kansas thistle, bad woman, Mexican thistle, and Texas thistle.

It is an annual, self-compatible herb that forms a tumbleweed. Individual plants reach 1–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) tall, have once or twice pinnatified leaves (see image of leaf), and abundant spines on the stems and leaves. It produces yellow flowers with pentagonal corollas 2–3.5 cm (0.79–1.38 in) in diameter and weakly bilaterally symmetric (see flower-closeup image). In its native range S. rostratum is pollinated by medium- to large-sized bees including bumblebees.

Other Solanum plants

Dwarf Tamarillo · Solanum acaule · Sodaapple nightshade · Ethiopian nightshade · American black nightshade · Solanum arcanum · New Zealand nightshade · Solanum berthaultii · Tamarillo · Solanum brevicaule · Solanum cajanumense · Bitter Apple

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Solanum rostratum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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