wrote:
Rusty Hinge wrote:
I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they
rather poisonous?
No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica.

Is there an easy way to tell the difference between Solanum Nigrum and
Belladonna? They are ... very similar. We have one or the other on the
allotment (quite a lot of it)

They are almost totally different, though the leaves are similar to S.
nigrum. Atropa belladonna has rather foxglove-like flowers and a
squat/flattened berry nestling in a voluminous calyx, stem about three
feet. Uncommon) Flowering should be over by now.

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a smaller plant with small
tomato-like flowers, white petals and the centre is yellow. Flowers
until frost kills the plant off.

--
Rusty

wrote:
In article , wrote:
Rusty Hinge wrote:
I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they
rather poisonous?
No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica.
Is there an easy way to tell the difference between Solanum Nigrum and
Belladonna? They are ... very similar. We have one or the other on the
allotment (quite a lot of it)

Yes. They are like stoats and weasels[*]. Deadly nightshade is
a lot larger, with larger leaves and much larger flowers, and is
a perennial. Black nightshade is typically small, and is very
much an annual.

[*] A stoat is stoatally different from a weasel, and a weasel
may weaselly be distinguished from a stoat.

I pine for my marten

--
Rusty

Derek wrote:
Hi Rusty

I have lots of seedlings and shrivelled fruit with pips on - want any?
Some of them are probably crossed with either wild strawberries or Royal
Sovereign as the fruits tend to be of all sizes from ickle to
top-joint-of-thumb.

That's very generous of you, I have grown strawberries for over
twenty years, but never Alpines, (never even tasted any) . I would be
grateful for the chance to attempt to grow some.

I'll pack some of each up. I wouldn't publish address on Usenet if I
were you. (My e-addy works if you remove the foobar)

--
Rusty

In message , Rusty Hinge
writes
wrote:
Rusty Hinge wrote:
black nightshade berries,
I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they
rather poisonous?

No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica.

Should be good and ripe, but unripe ones will do you no more harm than
green tomatoes.

http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/solanum.htm

"3.2 Poisonous parts of the plant
Solanine, a glyco-alkaloid, is found throughout the plant,
with the highest concentrations in the unripened berries. The
concentration of solanine increases in the leaves as the plant
matures (Cooper & Johnson, 1984). When ripe, the berries are
the least toxic part of the plant and are sometimes eaten
without ill effects (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962)."

Simmer with as little water as needed to stop the fruit catching on the
pan. Add about a tablespoon of sugar per cup of berries. Add tartaric acid
to taste, and simmer a little longer.

Very difficult to tell apart from blueberry pie filling. (I ate my blueberies off
the bushes as they ripened - well, those that the black bloodybirds didn't
get...)

I collected some red nightshade the year before last and they were
propagated at a well-known plant station somewhere near Norwich. There
were about three black nightshade plants to one red in the seedlings,
which told me something.

Kew didn't have red nightshade seeds for their millennium seed project,
but they have now. (They said they couldn't tell me if red nightshade was
edible, but I supplied the 'well, I'm not even ill' info...)

Are you talking of Solanum villosum, or of a red-berried form of Solanum
nigrum.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Sacha wrote:
On 2010-10-28 17:57:32 +0100, Rusty Hinge
said:

wrote:
In article , wrote:
Rusty Hinge wrote:
I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but
aren't they
rather poisonous?
No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica.
Is there an easy way to tell the difference between Solanum Nigrum and
Belladonna? They are ... very similar. We have one or the other on
the
allotment (quite a lot of it)

Yes. They are like stoats and weasels[*]. Deadly nightshade is
a lot larger, with larger leaves and much larger flowers, and is
a perennial. Black nightshade is typically small, and is very
much an annual.

[*] A stoat is stoatally different from a weasel, and a weasel
may weaselly be distinguished from a stoat.

I pine for my marten

yearnin' for the ermine

But notter otter?

--
Rusty

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Rusty Hinge
writes
wrote:
Rusty Hinge wrote:
black nightshade berries,
I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they
rather poisonous?
No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica.

Should be good and ripe, but unripe ones will do you no more harm than
green tomatoes.

http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/solanum.htm

"3.2 Poisonous parts of the plant
Solanine, a glyco-alkaloid, is found throughout the plant,
with the highest concentrations in the unripened berries. The
concentration of solanine increases in the leaves as the plant
matures (Cooper & Johnson, 1984). When ripe, the berries are
the least toxic part of the plant and are sometimes eaten
without ill effects (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962)."

It's gathered and eaten extensively throughout the world, especially
(IIRC) in South Africa.

Apart from turning my skin green, tanning to a deep purple, they haven't
done me any harm...

Simmer with as little water as needed to stop the fruit catching on the
pan. Add about a tablespoon of sugar per cup of berries. Add tartaric acid
to taste, and simmer a little longer.

Very difficult to tell apart from blueberry pie filling. (I ate my blueberies off
the bushes as they ripened - well, those that the black bloodybirds didn't
get...)

I collected some red nightshade the year before last and they were
propagated at a well-known plant station somewhere near Norwich. There
were about three black nightshade plants to one red in the seedlings,
which told me something.

Kew didn't have red nightshade seeds for their millennium seed project,
but they have now. (They said they couldn't tell me if red nightshade was
edible, but I supplied the 'well, I'm not even ill' info...)

Are you talking of Solanum villosum, or of a red-berried form of Solanum
nigrum.

From the way they cross, I would guess, the latter, though Kew didn't
give a Latin name. I sent them a complete plant with carefully excavated
roots, and they nursed it on and kept seed.

--
Rusty

Rusty Hinge wrote:
They are almost totally different, though the leaves are similar to S.
nigrum. Atropa belladonna has rather foxglove-like flowers and a
squat/flattened berry nestling in a voluminous calyx, stem about three
feet. Uncommon) Flowering should be over by now.

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a smaller plant with small
tomato-like flowers, white petals and the centre is yellow. Flowers
until frost kills the plant off.

A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade
may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we
get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next
year. :-)

Things like that are nothing to worry about. There were reports in the press a couple of days ago that a nursing mother drank a blue-coloured commercial sports drink, and it turned her breast milk bright green. Since it was a commercial product it must be completely safe.

wrote:

A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade
may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we
get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next
year. :-)

I suspected as much.

Look around - you'll probably find plenty growing in odd corners. While
it's usually assumed to be an annual, I have a plant in my greenhouse
which has survived two winters.

http://www.motherherbs.com/solanum-nigrum.html for pic, but the text
should be treated with caution - a synonym is *NOT* 'deadly nightshade',
and I have never heard an authenticated report of anyone being harmed in
any way by eating the berries, either cooked or raw. The name
'nightshade might well induce doubt-related reactions, but I often eat
them raw in more quantities than the odd few, though they are better
cooked, and with a little tartaric acid, at that.

Raw, they are slightly sweet, not strongly-flavoured and very juicy.

Despite the number of seeds in the berries it will be difficult to set
jam without added pectin or acid or both. I recommend not using citric
acid as this tends to flavour your jam with marmaladey undertones -
which is why I seldom buy any commercial jams these days.

--
Rusty

echinosum wrote:
'Rusty Hinge[_2_ Wrote:
;903946']Apart from turning my skin green, tanning to a deep purple,
they haven't
done me any harm...

Things like that are nothing to worry about. There were reports in the
press a couple of days ago that a nursing mother drank a blue-coloured
commercial sports drink, and it turned her breast milk bright green.
Since it was a commercial product it must be completely safe.

Of course! Anything fed to the general public is completely wholesome -
stands to reason innit.

One wonders why animals aren't insulated with trans-fats and fruit isn't
sweetened with saccharin or coloured with aspartame.

We have got *SO* much to teach Mother Nature...

--
Rusty

wrote in news:8ivfkhFjqnU2
@mid.individual.net:

Rusty Hinge wrote:
They are almost totally different, though the leaves are similar to S.
nigrum. Atropa belladonna has rather foxglove-like flowers and a
squat/flattened berry nestling in a voluminous calyx, stem about three
feet. Uncommon) Flowering should be over by now.

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a smaller plant with small
tomato-like flowers, white petals and the centre is yellow. Flowers
until frost kills the plant off.

A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade
may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we
get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next
year. :-)


WI!
We dont hear much about it these days, but years ago my mother and gran and
later my sisters were members and organised charity whist drives etc.
Ever played whist with the WI? They dont scare easily.
I watched a tv. program recently based on the Isle of Wight and it seems
that younger women are now battling for management, which surprises me.
Also the WI seem to be mainly middle class now, whereas when my family were
involved with it the members were not. I might well be wrong and they do
some incredible charity work all the same.

My best wishes to you and the WI.
Baz

Baz wrote:
My best wishes to you and the WI.

Thanks. I'm not a member. ;-)
It just happens to be a handy building where lots of local community things
(such as the gardening club annual show, and various charity coffee
mornings) happen, and a lot of WI members turn up at.

On 19 Oct, 11:53, wrote:

What about:
Can't get from supermarkets:
Gooseberries
Loganberries
Damson
etc.

Variety variety:
I grow 'Allington Pippin' apples.

Glut sluts:
Courgettes
Runner beans
Bramley apples

bobharvey wrote:
Glut sluts:

Heheh.

How does it grow with you? On Yorkshire clay, as a small tree (I have it growing over a pergola - I have a rather untidy "tunnel" of apples - a wonderful sight in blossom time, and again when everything is laden with ripening fruit) it is the determiner of my overall apple crop, anything between 50lb and 100lbs. Lovely and crisp and fresh when not quite ripe, but I don't enjoy them quite so much when we're coming to the end of them in December.

My favourite is Cornish aromatic - shape, taste, good looks, although Brownlees Russet wins for pink flower colour.