Wooly night shade

Woolly nightshade

 

Solanum mauritianum fruit -  

 

This fruit tree is at the corner of my deck. Right now, in Summer, the tree is in it's different stages. There are little clusters of  purple flowerlets. There are new fruits and yellow ripe fruits.
New Zealand native birds come and eat them. Once, Rose and I tried to eat them. there are a lot of little seeds. each fruit is about the size of a small glass marble that my brothers used to play with their mates in Sibu.  We didn't dare to eat more other than to taste them. Birds eat them. It is sweet but has a slight bitter taste.
Upon close examination, there are a small set of leaves hidden inside the big leaves.
Woolly nightshade has naturalized in New Zealand. It had arrived there by 1880, and is now well established from Taupo northward. Woolly Nightshade is poisonous and handling the plants can cause irritation and nausea. The dust from the plant can cause respiratory problems if exposure is prolonged. Because of its ability to affect human health and because of its aggressive and fast growing character it is illegal in all areas of New Zealand to sell, propagate, or distribute any part of the plant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_mauritianum

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