Family: Solanaceae (nightshades)

Status:

Description:
An erect branched, slightly woody perennial herb to about 1m high, with thin-textured light green, non-hairy, alternately arranged leaves, with slightly wavy margins. Flowers are about 15 mm diameter, white, with fused petals. The fruit is a bright orange-red berry, also 10-15 mm diameter and looking like a small tomato or chili.

Preferred habitat and impacts:
Prefers moist situations within forest, such as gullies. It is quite shade tolerant. Madeira cherry is generally only a minor weed of bushland, seldom being present in large amounts.

The plants sometimes appear in gardens, the seed being deposited by birds, and are tolerated because of their colourful fruits. However, the fruits are very poisonous to humans. They are sometimes sold incorrectly labelled as being an edible chili.

Dispersal:
Birds spread the seeds far into relatively undisturbed bush.

Look-alikes:
There are a number of members of the nightshade family with similar flowers. On the south coast, most native nightshades (such as Solanum pungetium) have purple flowers and usually sharp prickles on at least the stems, and often the leaves as well.

Weedy nightshades such as Solanum chenopodioides generally have white flowers and no prickles. Colour of the ripe berry varies from species to species. Green, yellow, black and red are all possible. Berries of the nightshade family should be treated with great caution. Some are edible when ripe and some are very poisonous to humans.

Control:
Hand-pulling or chipping. Not usually present in sufficient numbers to need herbicide.