Ban Tamakhu / Common Nightshade
Solanum erianthum
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Ban Tamakhu
Identify Ban Tamakhu by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Cyme.
- Confirm fruit type: Berry.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttarakhand and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Solanum erianthum
- Genus
- Solanum
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Degraded semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests, also in wasteland
- Native to
- South America
- Distribution
- Tropics
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Kerala, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Punjab
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The simple leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic, and 12–37 cm (4.7–14.6 in) long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.“The simple leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic, and 12–37 cm (4.7–14.6 in) long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- OvaterecordedEgg-shaped, broader near the base.“The simple leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic, and 12–37 cm (4.7–14.6 in) long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Tamakhu itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower arrangement
- CymerecordedA branched cluster where the central/terminal flower opens first.“Flowers are in lateral cymes and are 1.1–1.8 cm (0.43–0.71 in) in diameter.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- BerryrecordedA fleshy fruit with seeds embedded directly in the pulp, no central stone.“The fruit is a yellow berry 1–1.2 cm (0.39–0.47 in) in diameter with many seeds.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Tamakhu itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Akra, बन तमाखू Ban tamakhu
- Tamil
- Karimulli, Mulkathari, Sundai
- Telugu
- Budama, Rasagadi, Pittu
- Kannada
- Kadusonde, Kallarthi, Savudangi
- Malayalam
- Chunta, Erichunta, Malanjunta
- Marathi
- Kutri
About Ban Tamakhu
Common Nightshade (Solanum erianthum) belongs to the Solanaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam and 18 other states. It grows in degraded semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests, also in wasteland. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Solanaceae
Nightshade/Tomato family
Ban Tamakhu belongs to the Solanaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Solanaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Ban Tamakhu or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides