Solanum nigrum
Black nightshade
This Saturn plant favors borders between what is cultivated
and what is wild just as Hekate knew the border between the dead and living
well enough to lead Persephone from the Underworld back to the world of
light and her mother, Demeter. Like its relatives (belladonna,
mandrake, henbane, datura, scopolia), this herb is often involved in lunar magick
or works related to death and is an herb of ritual magick. In traditional
witchcraft, it is employed in rain magic.
This
magick herb contains solanine, a cardiac poison, the same stuff in tomato leaves and in green
skins of potatoes. The unripe fruits are the most poisonous
part, and the ripe berries are the least so. The amount of this alkaloid can be variable, and
different people react differently to it. Maoris eat the leaves of
this plant like spinach, and the ripe berries are made into jam in various
cultures. 
Boiling destroys solanine, but baking does not. At
one time, the leaves were applied as a poultice to cause sedation and relieve
pain, and they are made into an ointment used on cold sores. Despite
Grieves' claim that this plant has atropine, it does not. Likewise, black nightshade is
not another name for henbane, although these two plants are cousins. Culpeper says if you cannot tell the difference between black nightshade
and deadly nightshade, don't use either. This baneful herb is also known
as morel, black morel, petty morel, yerba mora, L'Homme, West Indian,
common, and garden nightshade. Top
How to grow it: The Black Toad favors borders between the cultivated & the wild. It
is often involved in lunar magick or works related to death. Unripe fruits are
the most poisonous part; the ripe berries the least so. Start seeds indoors in
spring in indirect light. Barely cover to germinate in 10-14 days at
65-70F/20C. Transplant 2ft/60cm apart after all danger of frost is over. An
annual, this plant gets 1-3ft/30-90cm tall but can be larger. It doesn’t
contain atropine but does have the poisonous alkaloid solanine, same stuff as
in the green parts of potatoes. Harvest ripe berries in August and September,
if possible, after a light frost. To prepare, bring a pot of water
to a boil. Pour in the berries and a teaspoon of baking soda and
return to a boil for one minute. Pour off water &
then cook berries in the way you intend to use them--as jam, as pie filling,
etc. They are not eaten raw, and just plain baking does not destroy the alkaloid. Don’t
grow near datura, henbane, or belladonna or the berries will absorb those
alkaloids. This plant will grow almost anywhere, even at high altitudes. General
growing info Top
Solanum nigrum
Black Nightshade
100 seeds
$3.25
Go to the dried
herb
Get some black
nightshade ink made from the berries
Uses in Witchcraft & Magic:
Honoring Hekate
Lunar Magic
Honoring
the Dead
Ritual Magic
Saturn Herb
© 2004, 2013 Harold A. Roth; No reproduction without permission