Black Henbane

Description:

BLACK HENBANE - Hyoscyamus niger L.

Solanaceae - (Nightshade family)

Black henbane may be annual or biennial, 1 to 3 feet tall. Leaves are coarsely-toothed to shallowly lobed and pubescent. Foliage has a fowl odor. Flowers, on long racemes in axils of upper leaves, are brownish-yellow with a purple center and purple veins. Fruits are approximately 1 inch long, 5-lobed.

Black henbane is a native of Europe and has been cultivated as an ornamental. It has spread throughout the United States and is a common weed of pastures, fencerows, roadsides, and waste areas. Black henbane contains hyoscyamine and other alkaloids which have caused occasional livestock poisoning. However, the plant is usually not grazed by animals and is consumed only when more palatable forage is not available. Henbane alkaloids have been used in the past, and are currently used, as medicines at controlled dosages. It is considered a poisonous plant to humans.

(Courtesy of Weeds of the West)

CONTROL STRATEGIES:

Black henbane is considered to be noxious in several states and appears on the Federal noxious weed list. It can be controlled with Telar at 1 ounce per acre or Tordon at one quart per acre. It is most common on disturbed soils along the edge of a road or poorly reclaimed construction sites. In Fremont County it does not appear to be invasive, but it can severely retard reclamation efforts along pipelines and roads. It occasionally moves into heavily grazed pastures. An important management goal would be to stop the disturbance of the soils and establish perennial cover.