About Solanum umbelliferum Eschsch.
Solanum umbelliferum Eschsch. is a species of nightshade, commonly known as bluewitch nightshade or just bluewitch. This plant grows in chaparral habitat and low-elevation oak woodlands across California, parts of Baja California, and Arizona. It is a small perennial herb or subshrub with dark gray-green oval leaves growing on hairy green stems, reaching a maximum height of one meter. It produces bright purple or blue frilly flowers, with thick yellow anthers at the center. The flowers close into spherical buds overnight. It bears small, round green fruits that turn purple when ripe and resemble tiny eggplants. It is a hardy shrub that can grow in rocky and clay soils, and it sprouts readily in areas recovering from wildfires or other disturbances. Like most other species in the genus Solanum, S. umbelliferum contains toxic alkaloids.
