A bushy perennial, 1-1.5 m (3-5 ft.) tall, it has ovate, dull-green leaves, bearing single, purple-brown, bell-shaped flowers in the axils in summer, followed by shiny black berries.
History and traditions
In 16th-century Venice this plant was known as herba bella donna, and used to dilate the pupils of their eyes by women who sought to beautify themselves. Its potential to cause fatalities was well understood at the time, the apothecaries’ name for it being solatrum mortale, which translates as “deadly nightshade”. Writing at the end of the 16th century, Gerard pontificates on its dangers, advising that a plant “so furious and deadly” should be banished from “your gardens”.
Growth
Grown as a commercial crop (for the pharmaceutical industry) in well-drained, moist soil and full sun warm, dry conditions increase the alkaloid content.
Uses
Medicinal
It contains the alkaloid, atropine, which dilates the pupils of the eye and gives the plant its toxic, sedative properties. A constituent of pharmaceutical drugs, used as premedication before surgery and in eye drops for ophthalmic treatment.
