''Solanum prinophyllum'', known as the forest nightshade, is a small plant native to the east coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a short lived herb, annual or perennial. Forest nightshade grows up to 50 cm high. Its leaves are 5 to 8 cm long and 3 to 5 cm wide. They are spiky and often tinged with purple. The stems are also spiky. Five petalled flowers occur at any time of the year and are blue or lilac in colour. Petals are fused at the base. The fruit is around 15 to 20 mm in diameter and the stem is 10 to 20 mm long. The fruit is a

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, which stays green or turns purple. The habitat is moist areas, in

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...

forest, or disturbed areas in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

References

* * prinophyllum Solanales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) {{Solanales-stub