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Atropa belladonna and other wild Nightshades

Helvete

Helvete

Atropa belladonna also known as deadly nightshade.  Likely the second most poisonous plant in the world although its uses are almost unlimited.  It is said that a few berries will kill an adult if ingested...and eating even one leaf can cause a nasty diarrheal death.  The cause of death of Emperor Augustus.  Macbeth's secret weapon...Sounds like a good companion plant for the garden to keep out unwanted mammalian visitors...
 
 
Atropa_bella-donna1.jpg

 
Ok, so I'm thinking of going a little overboard and growing some belladonnas.  I've done a quick overview on researching how to grow them and the potential dangers of the plant and have some questions IN CASE someone here has decided to take this leap into nightshade territory and can offer some pointers.
 
1. Is it completely necessary to do a cold seed start?  I'm reading that simulated snow melt is the easiest way to induce the natural conditions for germination.  In other words, if I get seeds for them will I have to wait until winter to sow them?  I see there are various ways of doing this with a freezer or with cold water in a fridge.  Sounds like germinating rose seeds...something I never had any success doing.  Everything else sounds quite pepper-ish except belladonnas actually do like getting their feet wet.
 
2.  Has anyone ever had any difficulty actually obtaining the seeds?  It seems to me that such a LEGENDARY and BRUTAL plant would be controlled in some way shape or form, but it looks like it's cultivated in the United States by quite a few people...is this a fluke?
 
3.  Other than the excitement of growing it myself, what kind of potential client or consumer base would this plant have?  I live close to University of Virginia and could likely convince some wacky med student he needs to buy tinctures from me for his research.  That's about all I can think of right now...
 
4.  I think I already know the answer to this, but is there any possibility of them crossing with other Solanaceae plants?  I don't want to be eating literally TOXIC Reapers or KILLER tomatoes.
 
Aaaaand…… just to be sure….. you have no kids and no pets? And no kid visitors - nieces, nephews and the like? Little kids put the darndest things into their mouths, sometimes other orifices, too.
 
geeme said:
Aaaaand…… just to be sure….. you have no kids and no pets? And no kid visitors - nieces, nephews and the like? Little kids put the darndest things into their mouths, sometimes other orifices, too.
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Nope, with the exception of cats and fish.  I do have some younger cousins but they are middle school aged and might come like once a year.  Hopefully it'll be another several years before I have any kids of my own.  I'd even be interested in making it a houseplant, I'm not sure if that's entirely advisable though...that's why I'm asking questions.  If they respirate anything like sumacs do, it could be a problem.  (I know some people that simply get near poison ivy and break out)
 
Why not grow other nightshade family members instead of the most poisonous one? There are many Solanum species that are easy to grow, germinate simply and grow like peppers or eggplant. Solanum nigra is a good example, as is Solanum dulcamara, but there are lots that are native to the USA. A few folks on here grow some Solanums species. 
 
I grew up with Belladonna plants all over the place and we almost never had frosts. I suspect the seeds will germinate in a very straightforward way, similar to eggplant. I haven`t ever heard of cold-stratifying them. 
 
Nigel said:
Why not grow other nightshade family members instead of the most poisonous one? There are many Solanum species that are easy to grow, germinate simply and grow like peppers or eggplant. Solanum nigra is a good example, as is Solanum dulcamara, but there are lots that are native to the USA. A few folks on here grow some Solanums species. 
 
I grew up with Belladonna plants all over the place and we almost never had frosts. I suspect the seeds will germinate in a very straightforward way, similar to eggplant. I haven`t ever heard of cold-stratifying them. 
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Haha I think it's the challenge of trying to grow it that intrigues me.  I think that's your subtle way of saying "nope don't do it" ;)  This is something I have to think on and do a lot of reading about before I get into anyways...maybe other nightshades would be good practice for safe handling, etc.  I already know we have some toxic wild ones in our woods, I've been hearing about staying away from wild plants with dark berries for basically my whole life.
 
And on another note in my readings, I discovered that North American "wild mandrake" (which is not actually a nightshade) also called "mayapple" is a plant almost completely dependent on mycorrhizae...great to know!  I have those things everywhere!
 
Where are you from anyways, Nigel, with that groovy accent in your videos?

cruzzfish said:
Chiles are technically nightshades. Grow those instead......
 
edit: as are eggplant, potato, and tomato.
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Think outside the box amigo ;)
 
I don't exactly know what you want to achieve with this, but you won't. Maybe you'll kill a few slugs, birds, your own cat or whatever. Sounds like a silly idea.
 
ikeepfish said:
Haha I think it's the challenge of trying to grow it that intrigues me.  I think that's your subtle way of saying "nope don't do it" ;)  This is something I have to think on and do a lot of reading about before I get into anyways...maybe other nightshades would be good practice for safe handling, etc.  I already know we have some toxic wild ones in our woods, I've been hearing about staying away from wild plants with dark berries for basically my whole life.
 
 
Where are you from anyways, Nigel, with that groovy accent in your videos?

 
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Not really a nope don't do it, more a be really `elfin careful and there are other plants that are just as cool, but less toxic. As I said, where I grew up Deadly Nightshade were ten a penny, so we were all brought up with the same "stay away from plants with dark berries" thing.
 
I`m from the northwest of England. Wigan, about 15 miles from Manchester. 
 
This is a wild Solanum I found recently. San Diego Mountain Nightshade, Solanum xanti. The flowers are roughly 1-1.5 inchs across. 
 

 
 
Zoli said:
I don't exactly know what you want to achieve with this, but you won't. Maybe you'll kill a few slugs, birds, your own cat or whatever. Sounds like a silly idea.
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Why do people keep vipers?  Is it because they respect and admire the sheer beauty of the animal...perhaps it is the thrill of taming something so dangerous?
 
I'm a capitalist, I see opportunity where others see risk.  The largest industry in my country is in pharmaceuticals and health care, toxins and venoms prove over and over again to be sources of new treatments and cures.  Honestly this ties in with my ridiculous obsession with capsaicin as well.
 
Nigel said:
Not really a nope don't do it, more a be really `elfin careful and there are other plants that are just as cool, but less toxic. As I said, where I grew up Deadly Nightshade were ten a penny, so we were all brought up with the same "stay away from plants with dark berries" thing.
 
I`m from the northwest of England. Wigan, about 15 miles from Manchester. 
 
This is a wild Solanum I found recently. San Diego Mountain Nightshade, Solanum xanti. The flowers are roughly 1-1.5 inchs across. 
 

 
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Excellent looking plant!  I actually went out and picked some Mayapple berries earlier. and uprooted some to get a look at the "wild mandrake" root, it almost reminded me of a tiny elephant tusk, I was mesmerized.  They're a really strange looking plant...I'm thinking I want to try to harvest the mycos from them to save myself some money on bottled microbes...also thinking it may be a waste of time.  I may go out and look for some more various wild plants later this week!  Are there any nightshades here on the east coast I should be looking for?
 
I'm not sure where I heard the warning about dark berries, but it was likely from when I was a child living in a rural Bavarian town.  When I got to the US I still heard it but I think in America it was mostly in reference to various sumac drupes and snakeberry.
 
If I do decide to grow the belladonnas, I'm also thinking up ways to keep it from naturalizing, the last thing we need is an outbreak of invasive lethal plants here.
 
A friend of mine used to keep Cobras. He was State licensed to keep them, too. He had 125 Cobras of all types, including King Cobras. He kept them for 15+ years until he got careless one day and was bitten while feeding them. He only just made it to the hospital, with his 10 vials of anti-venom. He needed 25 vials and was lucky the hospital could get it. Cost him $50,000 just for the anti-venom. 
 
I well understand the fascination with venomous animals. I`ve kept rattlesnakes, rear-fanged snakes from Africa (not Boomslangs) and hundreds of Tarantulas, Widows of various species etc etc etc. One day you get careless, sooner or later, however good you are. 
 
Now this isn`t in the same league as Cobras, far far from it. Just be careful. 
 
Yes I agree with the others on this one but I am a fan of nightshades of all types I would definitely be very careful in handling nightshades I plan on a lot more next year. I enjoy the wild nightshades in california. I dont think its a terrible idea to start a new interest I think its a must to keep these in a caged off area away from animals and birds because you dont want to be responsible for releasing an invasive species or seriously harming a neighborhood animal or child
 
I understand what you say and I respect these plants too. Compared to a viper, they are in a well isolated area, unable to harm anyone but its owner, which is okay. Not anyone else.
I like Nightshade's thinking. I'm pretty sure you can "cage off" this beast in a way that even looks badass, showing that its protecting us from something unique. So it is not a good option as a companion plant, unless you eventually want to kill something unwanted. Just don't be careless.
 
Belladonna is already used in medication. You're not doing something new there. As for keeping the plant, you run a lot of risks. Animals, friends, accidental ingestion, how would you feel if someone got hurt? Say it was growing in your yard naturally and you did not know it was there, a person/animal/child could ingest it and it be no fault of yours. However, if you're growing it and understand the risks, you open yourself up for huge problems on the off chance something happens. 
 
Koreansoul said:
Belladonna is already used in medication. You're not doing something new there. As for keeping the plant, you run a lot of risks. Animals, friends, accidental ingestion, how would you feel if someone got hurt? Say it was growing in your yard naturally and you did not know it was there, a person/animal/child could ingest it and it be no fault of yours. However, if you're growing it and understand the risks, you open yourself up for huge problems on the off chance something happens. 
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Liability
 
 
Beware of Belladonna Tree signs need to be places in plain sight. Seriously what if some teenage kid kicked a football over the fence and came in to get it, Ooo yum a berry.
 
Or what if it spreads some how to other places in the area. Animals carry seeds all the time.
 
geeme said:
Yes, in today's ever sue-ready environment, you might want to grow that in a cage. A court won't care that you told people not to touch it - if it's on your property, it's your liability.
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100% true
 
If the cable guy eats one and dies you will be homeless in no time...
 
Hell, some DA may consider it man-slaughter. Your better off growing pot, by a long shot.
 
While I loathe our Nanny State society, I have to agree that growing something like this does constitute 'asking for it.'  Those pretty little berries are going to be irresistible to any kid that happens to gain access to your back yard.  And just because you can't imagine that happening, doesn't mean it won't.  Given enough time, I guarantee that a kid, or someone else foolish enough to pop a berry or three, WILL eventually gain unsupervised access to your yard.  Even if the probability is only 1% per year, the potential for Very Bad Things to happen makes the long odds a little less comforting.
 
I say go for it, but be appropriately cautious. Ricinus, the first-place plant for most toxic, is growing as a weed everywhere there is abundant water, and nobody seems to be dying from it. Botanical curiosity is something to be encouraged.
 
I just found the world's coolest blog on botany. Here is their entry on Solanum evolution, including Atropa.
http://botanistinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/making-ratatouille-like-a-botanist/
 
ikeepfish you crazy lol but i agree belladonna is a beautiful lady <-------------hahaha see what i did there, but seriously its dangerous at the same time, im not sure if this is true or not but i do know the leaves and roots are very poisonous, anyway i grew up being told that even touching a leaf (hard enough to break it and get the sap on you) and not realizing it, it could kill you if you put your hand into your mouth or on food or anything, honestly like i said i dont know if thats true or not, but it is a risk.   i to am fascinated by all things poisonous and dangerous, i owned a few snakes and spiders, even a few poisonous plants, but i got rid of it all because i got careless and didn't want to deal with it anymore, but like you said its a decision you have to make, and with all these sue happy lay about's out there you are better off growing pot or even growing opium poppies, hell i have a list of legal hallucinogens if you want instead lol   
 
edit: fixed spelling mistakes
 
I figured maybe you guys were the people to ask, I've been seeing these my entire life and never paid them any mind...they're a weed.  I found a couple that got weeded earlier from a flower bed and they had purple flowers and very small tomato-like berries on them and I had the epiphany that they're a wild nightshade.  The closest I've found to any kind of information on them is Solanum virginianum, the Thorny Nightshade but for some reason it says that plant is native to Asia...odd that it would be named after my state if that is true.  Early Virginian colonists named several new species of plants and animals after this state when they arrived here, such as Didelphis virginiana, or the North American opossum.  Obviously early colonial times are pre-Linnaean so it's hard to say about some things. Does anyone know anything about this plant?  Is this something you'd be interested in obtaining seeds to grow?  I've been pricked by the thorns literally thousands of times and never had a reaction to it, but if it's the same plant that is used in SE Asia medicinally it might be worth the curiousity.  Mostly I'm wondering why there is so little information about such a common plant around here.

This one was growing literally right next to my raised bed (which I desperately need to weed), you can see a pepper right behind it even...
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I also found some info about Jimsonweed, something also relatively easy to find around here, apparently it was named as such after Jamestown when it was used to poison British soldiers during Bacon's Rebellion in 1675.  It's also called loco weed and cheapskate teenagers try to get high from it.

Any further information you might have about the above pictured nightshade would be great and appreciated.

Cheers,
Rich
 
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