Author: Cheryl Haxen

A tale of 'one creature's meat being another's poison.'

This is Solanum mauritianum, a native of South America, now naturalized as a serious invasive weed in many parts of the world including here in Eastern Australia. It has many common names including woolly nightshade, bugweed and wild tobacco. CAUTION...Apart from belonging to the same plant family as tobacco (Solanaceae), there is no evidence of it be being smokable! Many members of the family are toxic.

S. mauritianum is perennial and can grow to be a sizeable tree up to 10m high. All parts of the plant ...particularly the green berries..., are said to be toxic to humans, but there are no actual records of poisoning in Australia. Birds and livestock and some native marsupials consume the berries without a problem. In fact, the ripe berries, borne in profusion, are the favoured food of many birds and may be a lifesaver for frugivorous species in hard times, due to the hardiness of the plant during drought. And here is the problem. Birds in particular spread the seed, such that the plants appear unexpectedly in bush, farmland, and in gardens...as did the one in attractive flower in the photograph. Each berry contains about 50 seeds.

The problem of this species as a weed lie in this profusion of seeds spread by very mobile creatures. Plants with these large leaves can shade out native plants and crops and invade farmlands... All parts of the plant are downy, and the hairs can be irritating to the skin and lungs of those handling it. Not one article I found mentions how pungent the plant is when touched!

Apart from the obvious feature and the smell, the species has auriculate (ear-like) leaf-like structures on the stem.(see photo)

I did once witness a Landcare group leave S. mauritianum trees growing in a newly replanted area. They believed that they gave some shelter and protection to the small trees, and, having soft wood, were easy to remove by cutting and stump spraying once the replanting had taken root.