Horsenettles

 

A line of Carolina Horsenettles has grown in the sliver of dirt between a brick wall and the sidewalk. Considered a noxious weed, we see more of it each year as the climate warms and it extends its territory northward. I love the old folk names that plants like this have collected. Sometimes known as the Devil's Tomato or Apple of Sodom, it’s a member of the nightshade family. Every part of this plant will make humans and animals sick. Imagine wandering through a field in bare feet and stepping on one of these thorny-stemmed plants. It also earned the name Tread-Softly. It’s a scourge in tidy gardens but here, for a short while, it is a thing of beauty. Just don’t touch--or eat.