The Urban Pantheist

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum

I am resistant to including garden plants in this project, but this tomato plant insisted. We have tomato plants growing in planters, in a raised garden bed, and in a place in the yard where they must have grown from chicken droppings. The plant in this photo is growing from our compost. There are a series of half inch ventilation holes in the sides of the compost container and this tomato vine emerged from one. At first I was mildly amused: plants frequently sprout in our compost (I guess we don't turn it often enough) but they eventually die and become more compost. We left this to its own devices and soon enough it flowered. I told myself, if it bears fruit it becomes part of the project. Here we are.

Tomatoes are native to South America. They made their way north with human help, then were brought to Europe, where many were under the misapprehension that the fruit was toxic. Easy mistake--many plant in the nightshade family are. Eventually the truth came out that love apples were perfectly edible, and well-suited to be made into sauces. Imagine Italian food before the tomato. The plant is so easily grown in North America that even I can do it, ours are annuals, but in warmer places it can be perennial. I have taken to deliberately feeding the chickens certain fruits (tomatoes and wine berries) in order to draft them into gardening. I'll let you know how that goes.

A wild tomato I encountered behind Brookline Ice and Coal was featured in the 365 Urban Species Project.

Horsenettle fruits.

Photos by cottonmanifesto. Location: In front of Beth Israel hospital, Boston.

Urban species #279: Horsenettle Solanum carolinense

The star-shaped flower of horsenettle, five petals curling back from the yellow stamens at the center, makes it instantly recognizable as a member of the nightshade family. The petals may be white or bluish, and the whole flower is rather larger (up to an inch or two across) than many other nightshades. You can tell by its prickly leaves and stems that it's a tough customer, and if you get past them, you'll find that all parts of the plant, including it's tempting yellow berries, are poisonous. It is native to the southeast of the United States, but has spread across the continent, and been transported elsewhere (including Japan, where one study found 39 species of arthropod feeding on it, despite its toxicity). It grows on roadsides and waste areas, and spreads vegetatively by its roots, or with the help of birds (including, interestingly, wood ducks), who are able to eat the fruits without ill effects.

( close ups )

Urban species #156: Bittersweet nightshade Solanum dulcamara


Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location: Jamaicaway at Olmsted Park, Boston.

Many plants in the family Solanaceae have had long associations with humans. The New World plants tomato and hot pepper changed cuisine around the world, while potato and tobacco affected history itself. Bittersweet nightshade, a rather humbler European herb, was formerly used for a variety of medicinal applications. Today it is simply an attractive weed, a weakly climbing vine that produces colorful tomato-like berries as well as purple and yellow flowers. It is considered invasive, but is generally easier to control than many others. The main worry concerning this plant is that all parts of it, including the enticing fruits, are toxic. It is likely through familiarity with this plant that Europeans mistook the tomato to be poisonous for many years.