Cockroach berry

The cockroach berry (Solanum capsicoides) is a spiny, semi-woody shrub in the family Solanaceae — the nightshade family — native to eastern Brazil but now established as an invasive or naturalised weed throughout the humid tropics, including parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Growing to about one metre in height, it is armed with sharp, straight prickles on stems, leaves, and even the calyx, making it unpalatable to grazing animals and difficult to control mechanically. The leaves are lobed and pubescent, resembling those of other weedy solanums, and the plant produces clusters of small white flowers with yellow anthers characteristic of the genus. The globose fruits, around two to three centimetres in diameter, are initially green with white marbling and ripen to orange or red; they superficially resemble small chilli peppers or tomatoes but are toxic to humans and most livestock, containing solanine and related steroidal alkaloids. Birds are primary dispersers of the seeds, facilitating the plant's rapid spread in disturbed habitats including roadsides, forest margins, degraded pastures, and abandoned agricultural land. Solanum capsicoides is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, reflecting its status as a common, widespread, and spreading species rather than one of conservation concern. In its invasive range it can form dense monospecific thickets that suppress native vegetation.