Sticky Nightshade

Yass Valley Council’s Biosecurity Weeds Officer, Brett Lees is advising landholders in the area to be on the lookout for a weed not often seen in the Yass Valley.

Mr Lees was recently advised by his Biosecurity Officer colleagues from the Hilltops Shire of what appeared to be a Sticky Nightshade plant growing on the Lachlan Valley Way.  It was soon determined that the sole plant was in fact Sticky Nightshade. The plant was removed and disposed of.

Sticky Nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium) is an invasive plant that has sharp prickles which can injure people, pets, livestock and native animals. It also contains steroidal glycoalkaloids toxins and is suspected to have caused cattle deaths in the Greater Sydney Region.

Sticky Nightshade is an erect plant to 1.5 m high. Most of the plant is hairy and covered in very sharp prickles. It is an annual or short-lived perennial. Multiple, severe frosts may kill the above ground parts of the plant but it will reshoot from rhizomes in spring. It can flower within five weeks of germination or regrowth from rhizomes.

If you believe you have seen Sticky Nightshade on your property, please contact Yass Valley Council’s Biosecurity Weeds officers on 6226 1477.

22 March 2021

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