Also known as “white horse-nettle,” “bull-nettle” and “trompillo,”
silverleaf nightshade is a showy plant when in blossom May to October
along roadsides and in open fields at elevations from 1,000 to 5,500
feet from Kansas and Colorado to Arizona, California, and south to
tropical America. It is an agricultural pest in irrigated areas,
difficult to eradicate. Pima Indians used the crushed fruits as an
additive to milk in making cheese. A close relative, _Solanum jamesii_
is known as wild-potato as it produces small tubers eaten by desert
Indians.
_Solanum elaeagnifolium_ Potato Family
[Illustration: SILVERLEAF NIGHTSHADE]