''Solanum seaforthianum'', the Brazilian nightshade, is a flowering evergreen vine of the family

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...

native to tropical South America. As a member of the ''Solanum'' genus, it is related to such plants as the tomato and potato. It is characterized by clusters of four to seven leaves and can climb to a height of given enough room. It blooms in the mid to late summer with clusters of star-shaped purple inflorescence followed by scarlet marble-sized berries. The plant is highly heat resistant, but cannot tolerate frost conditions. The plant contains modest amounts of various

tropane alkaloids Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkaloi ...

such as

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...

scopolamine Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting ...

and

hyoscyamine Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including henbane, mandrake, angel's trumpets, jimsonweed ...

and should be considered mildly toxic and inedible. Promising

molluscicidal Molluscicides () – also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets – are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agricul ...

and schistosomicidal activities were displayed for the ''S. seaforthianum'' extracts and fractions which are attributed to the glycoalkaloid content. The species has become widely naturalised outside its native range and is an invasive species in

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 ...

, Africa, Indochina, the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

and India, choking native vegetation and poisoning livestock. Solanum seaforthianum invasive

References

seaforthianum Plants described in 1808 Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews {{Solanales-stub