Bittersweet

Solanum dulcamara

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Solanales

Family:

Solanaceae (Nightshade)

Also in this family:

Black Nightshade, Deadly Nightshade, Duke of Argyll's Teaplant, Green Nightshade, Japanese Lantern, Potato, Tomato

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Maximum Size:

150 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Fens, hedgerows, woodland.

Flower:

Purple, 5 petals

5 bright purple bent back petals, anthers forming a bright yellow pointed cone, up to 1.5cm across. Sepals and stalks are also sometimes purple.

Fruit:

Clusters of round green berries, later turn yellow, orange or bright red.

Leaves:

Alternate, pointed and oval. Often with one or more pairs of basal ovate lobes, or leaflets at the base.

Other Names:

Amara Dulcis, Bitter Nightshade, Bittersweet Nightshade, Blue Bindweed, Blue Nightshade, Climbing Nightshade, Common Nightshade, Dwale, European Bittersweet, Fellen, Fellenwort, Felonwood, Fever Twig, Fool's Cap, Poisonberry, Poisonflower, Rubabarik, Scarlet Berry, Skawcoo, Snakeberry, Tether-devil, Trailing Bittersweet, Violet Bloom, Wild Potato Flower, Wolfgrape, Woody Nightshade.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map