Description: This native perennial plant is about 1-2'
tall and unbranched or little branched. Scattered white hairs occur
occasionally along the central stem, although it becomes glabrous with age. The
opposite leaves are up to 5" long and 3" across (excluding the petioles). They
are ovate-cordate, dentate along the margins, and largely hairless. The slender
petioles of the leaves are up to 2" long. The central stem terminates in a
raceme of flowers up to 6" long. The stalk of this raceme has scattered white
hairs. The small flowers are sparsely, but evenly distributed, along this stalk
on slender pedicels up to ½" long. These pedicels spread outward. Each
flower consists of 2 white petals, 2 green sepals, 2 stamens, and a slender
style. Each petal is deeply divided into 2 lobes. At the base of each flower,
there is a 2-celled ovary that is green and covered with stiff hooked hairs; it
is obovoid in shape. Each cell of this ovary contains a single seed. The
blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts about a month. Each flower
is short-lived and replaced by a small bur-like fruit (see the description of
the ovary above as well as the photograph below). The root system can produce
rhizomes or stolons that extend through the soil or leaf mould to create
vegetative offsets from the mother plant.
Cultivation: The preference is light to medium
shade, mesic conditions, and a rich loamy soil with abundant organic
matter.
Range & Habitat:
Enchanter's Nightshade is a common plant that occurs in most counties of
Illinois (see
Distribution
Map). Habitats include mesic deciduous woodlands, including oak woodlands
and maple/basswood woodlands, and areas that are adjacent to woodland paths.
Sometimes this species occurs in wooded upland areas and along ravine slopes.
Faunal Associations: The
nectar and pollen of the flowers attract small bees, including Halictid bees
and Little Carpenter bees. They are also visited by Syrphid flies. Birds and
mammals help to distribute the seeds, as the small burs can cling to feathers
and fur. These seed-bearing burs can cling to the clothing of humans as well.
Deer occasionally browse on the foliage of Enchanter's Nightshade (see
Albertine, 1997).
Photographic
Location: A mesic deciduous woodlands at Busey Woods in Urbana,
Illinois.
Comments: This is one of
the woodland wildflowers that blooms during the summer in shaded areas. The
flowers of such species are usually small, white, and not very showy.
Enchanter's Nightshade is a rather odd member of the Evening Primrose family,
as its flowers have only 2 petals, 2 sepals, and 2 stamens. This is a
distinctive characteristic of the Circaea genus in this family. The only
other member of this genus that occurs in Illinois, Circaea alpina
(Small Enchanter's Nightshade), is an uncommon species that is restricted to
the cool moist woodlands of northern Illinois. It has leaves that are more
cordate and indented at the base, and its flowers are clustered toward the apex
of the flowering stalk (rather than being evenly distributed along this stalk).
While Enchanter's Nightshade is about 1-2' tall and has 2-celled ovaries, Small
Enchanter's Nightshade is less than 1' tall and has 1-celled
ovaries.