Silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaegnifolium)

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)

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

Flower

• Star-shaped, 0.75-1.5 in. diameter, purple to blue with 5 petals and yellow stamens and; 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

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 glyphosate or 2,4-D to young, actively growing plants; picloram at full flower; imazapyr to actively growing plants