Apple of Sodom is a roundish, perennial shrub to 2 m
high, with very spiny and hairy stems and leaves. The yellowish spines
are coarse, up to 15 mm long and the hairs are of two types, some
star-shaped and some gland-tipped. The leaves are 4-15 cm long and
deeply lobed, the lobes rounded and often with wavy or further indented
margins. The flowers are pale purple with bright yellow anthers and in a
short spray. Each star shaped flower is 1.5-3 cm across with 5 petals
and a hairy and prickly calyx. The berries are yellow or mottled
eventually turning brown to black and are succulent, globular and 2-3.5
cm across.
Native to northern and southern Africa and the Mediterranean, it is now a serious weed of roadsides, creeklines, wasteland and disturbed woodlands. Apple of Sodom is a declared weed in several countries. It flowers from January to May or August to October and the berries are toxic.
Binicalaf Nou
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