''Solanum robustum'', the shrubby nightshade, is a thorny perennial shrub native to northeastern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

of the genus '' Solanum'' and is therefore related to the

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

and

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

plants. A medium shrub, the plant may grow 4 to 8 feet (1.2 – 2.4 m) with velvety leaves and stems due to dense stellate trichomes present on all faces of the plant. Strong, straight or recurved flattened prickles up to 12 millimeters long may be found along the stems. The leaves grow 6 to 10 inches long and feature nine angled ridges along their perimeter. ''S. robustum'' blooms between late spring and mid fall with small clusters of white to yellow-white star shaped inflorescence followed by white or yellowish marble sized berries. ''S. robustum'' contains 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 ...

in its leaves, fruit and stems and therefore should not be consumed.''Solanum Robustum''
Forest Starr, Kim Starr, Lloyd Loope, United States Geological Survey—Biological Resources Division, April 2003.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7555777 robustum