Hairy Nightshade
Solanum sarrachoides
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to October
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 1 Louisiana parish.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
61CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Solanum
- Abagrotis alternataGreater Red Dart, Mottled Grey Cutworm
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Autoplusia egenaBean-Leaf Skeletonizer Moth
- Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
Show all 61
- Chloridea subflexaSubflexus Straw, Groundcherry Sun Moth
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Diaphania hyalinataMelonworm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Enigmogramma basigeraPink-Washed Looper Moth
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euzophera ostricolorellaTulip-Tree Borer, Root Collar borer
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Frumenta nundinellaMottled Twirler
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Heliothis phloxiphagaSpotted Straw Sun Moth, Darker Spotted Straw Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hymenia perspectalisSpotted Beet Webworm
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Keiferia glochinellaEgg Plant Leaf-Miner, Tomato Leaf-Folder
- Keiferia inconspicuellaEgg Plant Leaf-Miner, Tomato Leaf-Folder
- Lascoria orneodalisEnigmatic Moth
- Lineodes integraEggplant Leafroller
- Lipocosma sicalisBrown-Banded Lipocosmodes
- Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
- Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Rhectocraspeda periusalisEggplant Webworm
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera albulaWhite-Spotted Armyworm, Gray-Streaked Armyworm
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Symmetrischema striatellaStreaked Twirler
- Synanthedon rileyanaRiley's Clearwing
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
21BirdsRecorded eating Solanum in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Greater White-fronted GooseLeaves and roots. 4 diet records
- Hermit ThrushFruit and seeds. 2 diet records
- Mourning Dove2 diet records
- Swainson's ThrushFruit and seeds. 2 diet records
- White-winged Dove2 diet records
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
- American Robin1 diet record
- Brown-headed Cowbird1 diet record
- Chipping SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
Show all 21
- Eastern BluebirdFruit. 1 diet record
- Eastern KingbirdFruit. 1 diet record
- Evening Grosbeak1 diet record
- House FinchSeeds. 1 diet record
- Red-winged Blackbird1 diet record
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakSeeds. 1 diet record
- Savannah Sparrow1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Spotted TowheeSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-crowned SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-eyed Vireo1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Solanum 21
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Solanaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications