Forest nightshade

Solanum nudum, sometimes called forest nightshade, is a slender perennial shrub or subshrub in the Solanaceae family, native to humid montane and lowland forests of the Neotropics, from southern Mexico through Central America and into the Andean regions of South America. It typically grows 1 to 3 metres tall with sparsely branched, almost glabrous green stems that lack the prickles found in many Solanum species. The leaves are alternate, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 8 to 25 cm long, with an entire or shallowly undulate margin, a pointed tip and a tapering base; both surfaces are nearly hairless and bright green. Inflorescences are loose, lateral or extra-axillary cymes of small, star-shaped flowers with five pale violet to pale lilac corolla lobes and bright yellow, connivent anthers forming a central cone. Flowering occurs through much of the year in suitable conditions. The fruit is a small globose berry, 6 to 10 mm across, green ripening to dull yellow or black, containing many flattened seeds. It grows in forest understorey, clearings and roadsides.