Solanum Nigrum (Black Nightshade) 犬酸漿（イヌホオズキ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I first thought this was solanum carolinense or Carolina horsenettle, or more commonly radical weed I saw last June, but the flowers are too tiny for radical weed. So, I googled and found that they are solanum nigrum, or commonly black nightshade or blackberry nightshade.

Solanum nigrum 犬酸漿

Black nightshade イヌホオズキ

Blackberry nightshade 「バカナス」とも呼ばれる

I was about to pass by this tiny plant under a guardrail without noticing it as I was rushing home after finishing my morning walk during which I took many pictures of Yoko cherry blossoms. Compared to cherry blossoms, these white or pale purple flowers are so tiny and inconspicuous, but something with these 2 cm flowers among deep green leaves caught my eye. Small weeds "just being there" and their hardiness always attract me.  

It has Japanese names "Dog bladder cherry" and "Stupid eggplant," and both are terrible😭 because "Dog" in "Dog bladder cherry" and "stupid" in "Stupid eggplant" both mean in Japanese, USELESS!!     

(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)

悪茄子にしてはちっこいなと思ったら犬酸漿（イヌホオズキ）でした。葉っぱの形が少し違いますが、花は大きさを別にすればそっくりです。

この日はヨウコウザクラの写真をたくさん撮って急いで家に帰る途中だったので危うく見過ごすところでした。ただそこに咲く草花、そのたくましさにはいつも目を見張る思いです。

それにしても名前がね｡｡｡ 「悪茄子」もひどいですが、「犬酸漿（イヌホオズキ）」の「犬（イヌ）」は「役に立たない」という意味だそうです。しかも別名「バカナス」！ひどすぎるでしょ😭

(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)