While visiting the Milton Keynes Parks Trust I was accompanied by a member of staff looking for interesting flora in the reserve. I made a short list of the plants for the staff where my favourite finds were the Solanum dulcamara & Impatiens capensis.

Solanum dulcamara is a semi-woody perennial vine that climbs over nearby structures and vegetation or crawls over the ground. The 3-lobed leaves release a bitter odour, especially when damaged. The purple stems become woody complimenting the violet flowers.

The flowers have a star shaped corolla with protruding yellow anthers joined together with the style which extends out of the centre. Flowering in the summer for 2-3 months, the flower matures with 5 petals curved sharply backward which eventually set yellow/orange fruit after fertilisation.

This is NOT 'deadly nightshade' Atropa belladonna. For some reason people incorrectly upload images of 'Woody nightshade' Solanum dulcamara even though they look nothing alike! However, Solanum dulcamara is poisonous as it contain solanine which will cause vomiting and convulsions.