DID you know potatoes, tomatoes and brinjals all belong to the same plant family as the deadly nightshade or belladonna plant?
The clues, of course, are their flowers, which are similar.
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The Solanaceae is a large family of plants founds throughout the world and famous for food plants and ornamentals like petunias and moonflowers. However, the family has a sinister side, as it also includes highly poisonous plants.
A number of plants in this family, including the inkberry and bug weed that are so problematic in our area, have settled in South Africa from overseas, and have become alien invasives.
Another member of the family that is perhaps lesser known as an alien invasive but is also doing great damage is the Solanum seaforthianum or slender potato creeper. It has pretty mauve flowers that droop in clusters, lobed leaflets and shiny red berries. As pretty as this plant is, it needs to be eradicated as it is a declared alien invasive. Hailing originally from Tropical America, it is a rampant garden escapee that is invading our woodlands and forests.
Fortunately we have an indigenous plant in this genus that is just as pretty and also sports dainty mauve drooping flowers. It goes by the name of Solanum geniculatum, sometimes also known as the indigenous potato creeper and is a scrambling shrub.
It thrives in my garden as a happy little scrambling ground cover, but it would look good growing up a trellis. I have been nagging my husband to make me one of those wooden obelisk-shaped plant support for it as I think it would like to do a bit of climbing.
I often notice its pretty flowers mixed in among the dense vegetation that lines the northern section of Saints Walk. It is not a plant that is freely available from nurseries so contact a specialist indigenous nursery if you would like to obtain one of these pretty little scramblers.
If you would like to find out about the less common indigenous plants like this that make good garden subjects attend the Leisure Bay Conservancy Open Gardens Weekend. Four Leisure Bay indigenous gardens, packed with fascinating and lesser known plants, will be open to the public on June 16 and 17, from 10am to 4pm daily. Tickets are R30 for access to all four gardens. Refreshments and some plants will be on sale and visiting specialists will be on hand to chat about a variety of environmentally related subject.
For information and tickets, contact Libby at 082 561 6993, Mark at 082 4282087, Stephanie at 083 3029382 or Merle at 083 4075219.
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