On the creek: Silverleaf nightshade

 The old Texas cowmen hated Silverleaf nightshade. It was, they thought, an evil weed — prolific, hard to kill, with the danger or poisoning animals.

I think it’s one of the most beautiful plants in Texas.

It’s the combination of colors: the washed-out green of the foliage against the brilliant purple flowers with golden anthers. 

Solanum elaeagnifolium started to bloom in April and will continue into October.

The anthers are like little bananas. They open at pores at the tip, but only if they are vibrated at the right frequency. Given the right frequency — such as a large bee tromping around — pollen shoots out.

The petals on the purple flowers are fused.

The plant puts on a small fruit like a green to yellow cherry tomato. In the same genus, Solanum lycopersicum covers most cultivated tomatoes. But the nightshade is poisonous.

The undersides of the leaf are covered with fine hairs, which gives it the silvery appearance. The stems have prickles.

Solanine is a glycoalkaloid, used in drugs for cancer and herpes. It’s in a lot of the folk medicines of the Southwest. Trompillo, as it’s known here, is used for toothache and snakebite.

Solanaceae is the potato family.