The plant we’re looking at here has various names: Bittersweet, Woody Nightshade, Bittersweet Nightshade and quite a few others. The scientific name is Solanum dulcamera. It is a native wild plant that evokes mixed reactions.
On the one hand, it is an undeniably attractive plant. The flowers are deep purple with bright yellow stamens shooting out from the centre. Come autumn, bright red berries appear. Flowering and fruiting can sometimes happen simultaneously, and the berries often appear together in various stages of ripeness: from green, through yellow, to bright red. It puts on quite a show: a bittersweet symphony! Bittersweet is a welcome plant to see on a grey October day when nature’s bright colours are in decreasing supply.
On the other hand, Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade has a lingering association with its more highly toxic cousin, the Deadly Nightshade (which has black, not red, berries). Bittersweet fruit is poisonous, though you’d have to chomp through a good few bitter berries to feel badly ill. As a precautionary measure, children should be steered clear of it. Some birds – thrushes, overwintering Blackcaps and, if you’re lucky, Waxwings – will eat the berries when their supply and choice of food is restricted. It doesn’t seem toxic to them. Noticeably, they eat the fruit but often discard (or poo-out) the seeds. There’s a symbiosis here: the birds get a meal, whilst the plant has an agent for seed dispersal.
The flowers don’t produce nectar, so they can’t be said to be the most ‘insect-friendly’ plant. However, the flowers do produce pollen and, if they work hard at it, bees will come to collect that.
The name ‘Bittersweet’ might seem to denote that the taste is bitter at first, then followed by sweetness. That sounds fairly tempting. However, those who have tasted the fruit report a very brief initial sweetness, quickly followed by a lingering awful bitterness. That doesn’t sound at all tempting and it’s clear that you’d have to make a determined struggle to eat enough berries to have a serious health risk.
Bittersweet can be found in any patch of rough or waste ground, especially where there’s a stream or pond nearby. It’s a vine requiring the support of other plants, though it doesn’t have tendrils to help it climb. Gardeners will notice a close similarity between this plant and the tomato plant. They are close relatives. Whilst it can be attractive to have in a wild corner of your garden, if you have such a thing, gardeners should be wary of it spreading out of control. It can be rampant, but luckily it can be pulled out without too much difficulty (just be sure to wear gloves). As with most things in a wildlife-friendly garden, it’s a matter of balance: between what’s right for you and what’s right for nature. If you have Bittersweet in your garden, the best balance is to leave some in place, whilst managing its spread. If you have young children, it might be judicious to remove it completely, for now.
All photos taken in Bredfield
