~ Texas Poison ~
Silverleaf Nightshade
(Solanum elaeagnifolium)
This plant has reportedly poisoned horses, sheep, goats, cattle and humans. However, sheep and goats are more resistant than cattle, and in controlled experiments, goats were not poisoned at all. Its toxic agent is solanine. The leaves and fruit are toxic at all stages of maturity, the highest concentration is in ripe fruits. In some instances, an animal can be poisoned by eating 0.1 to 0.3 percent of its weight in silverleaf nightshade. This shows a combination of last year's decay and this year's new growth.
Uploaded on June 22, 2009