Nightshade, american

The American nightshade, also called Phytolacca americana, is a plant of the genus Phytolacca within the family Phytolaccaceae. The plant is found in North America and Southern Europe.

Phytolacca americana is a perennial and herbaceous plant that reaches a maximum height of 2 meters. The upright stem is mostly reddish in colour, the flowers are radially symmetrical and also red in colour, the petals are mostly greenish-white. The roots of the plant are mostly thick and fleshy. As fruit the plant bears fleshy and flat berries.

The American nightshade is a parent plant of Radix Phytolaccae decandrae, the saponine-containing cermes berries.