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Bittersweet, Solanum dulcamara, is a species of vine in the potato genus Solanum, family Solanaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, including North America, where it is an invasive problem weed. It occurs in a very wide range of habitats, from woodlands to scrubland, hedges and marshes.
It is a semi- woodThis article describes the wood that comprises trees and boards. For the Chinese element, see wood (classical element). For the town, see Wood, South Dakota or Wood, Wisconsin. For the type of golf club, see golf club (equipment). Veluwe, The Netherlandsy herbaceous perennial vineThe term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos , for which grapes were grown. In American usage "vine" is now a generic term for all climbing plants. In British English "The vine" is specificall, which scrambles over other plants, capable of reaching a height of 4m where suitable support is available, but more often 1-2m high. The leaves are 4-12cm long, roughly arrowhead-shaped, and often lobed at the base. The flowerA flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms ( flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). The function of a flower is to produce seeds through sexual reproduction''. For the higher plants, seeds are the next generation, ands are in loose clusters of 3-20, about 1-1.5cm across, star-shaped with five purple petals, and yellow stamens and style pointing forward. The fruit is an ovoid red berry about 1cm long, soft and juicy, poisonous to man but edible for birdFor other meanings of bird see bird (disambiguation). Many see text Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones. There are almost 9000 known species of birds ins, which disperse the seeds widely. As with most Solanum species, the foliage is also poisonous for man if eaten.
The name bittersweet is also confusingly used in some areas for some species in the genus Celastrus (the Staff vines, family Celastraceae), e.g. American bittersweet (C. scandens) and Oriental bittersweet (C. orbiculatus).
Solanales
