Stem

  • 1-3 ft. tall, branched and densely covered with short hairs; sometimes covered with red to yellow spines less than 0.2 in. long
Photo of silverleaf nightshade plant with yellow berries.

Leaves

  • Alternate; oval to lance-shaped and 3-6 in. long with wavy or lobed edges (margins); usually NO spines on leaf veins; covered with tiny hairs that are star-shaped with magnification; gives the plant a gray or silvery appearance
Photo of silverleaf nightshade bush with purple flowers on top.

Flower

  • Star-shaped, 0.75-1.5 in. diameter, purple to blue with 5 petals and yellow stamens; usually 3-5 flowers clustered on stalks at tips of branches
  • Berries are round, shiny, yellow, 0.25-0.5 in. diameter and resemble tiny tomatoes 
Photo of silverleaf nightshade plant with dark purple flower and yellow center.

Root

  • Deep, creeping root system
 

Other

  • Often infests rangeland, roadsides, waste areas and crop fields; native to North America; known to occur in Clark, Elko and Nye counties
  • Perennial; reproduces by seeds and roots
  • Toxic to livestock and humans
  • Also known as white horsenettle
 

Control

  • Repeated hand-digging can be effective; DO NOT use tillage, mowing or grazing
  • Apply 2,4-D, aminopyralid, dicamba, or glyphosate to young, actively growing plants; imazapyr to actively growing plants; picloram at full flower
Blecker, L., Creech, E., Dick, J., Gephart, S., Hefner, M., Kratsch, H., Moe, A., Schultz, B. 2020, Nevada Noxious Weed Field Guide – Silverleaf nightshade, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, Field Guide

Learn more about the author(s)

Heidi Kratsch
Heidi Kratsch
 

Also of Interest:

 
Solanum triflorum
A Northern Nevada Homeowner’s Guide to Identifying and Managing Cutleaf Nightshade
This fact sheet contains information on cutleaf nightshade to help homeowners identify and manage the plant. Learn about each part of the plant and the controls methods to maintain the plant.
 Donaldson, S. and Hanson Mazet, W. 2012, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno, FS-13-12
 

Associated Programs

hands holding freshly picked carrots

Grow Your Own, Nevada!

Learn the secrets of high desert gardening

Master Gardeners at tabling event

Master Gardeners of Nevada

Program trains local gardeners to provide research-based horticulture information to Nevadans

ladybug larva eating aphids on a pepper plant

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management program is a long-term management strategy that uses a combination of tactics to reduce pests to tolerable levels with potentially lower costs for the pest manager and minimal effect on the environment.