identified

the thorny plant with the potato-like blooms in the first four photos has been identified as carolina horsenettle...which, unsurprising;ly, is a member of the solanum family and a cousin to the potato...it is also a nightshade ( like its cousins the potato and the tomato ) and is toxic to humans..it is a native of the southeast united states and has been steadily migrating to the north and west( although the usda classifies it as native in most of the contiguous forty eight states )..whether this is a marker of climate change or not is not clear to me ( yet )...however this is the very first time i have encountered this particular nightshade and i was immediately struck by the close resemblance between its flowers and the potato blossoms in the last three photos ( papa chonka, nevskii, and early blue respectively )...i will be on the look out for more of this...in the community garden, at home, and while wandering around...curious to see how prevalent it might be.