Enchanter’s Nightshade
Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) is a native, perennial wildflower found throughout Wisconsin’s shaded woodlands and woodland edges, thriving in moist to medium-dry soils rich with organic material. Standing up to three feet tall, it features green, unbranched stems often adorned with fine white hairs, especially toward the upper portions. Its opposite, oblong leaves can grow as long as five inches, presenting a softly hairy texture underneath and a smooth upper surface. The plant’s delicate, quarter-inch wide flowers are typically white but may blush pink as they mature, each one displaying an unusual pair of notched petals—a subtle rarity in the wildflower world.
After blooming, it produces tiny bur-like seed capsules covered in hooked hairs that cling to animals and clothing, allowing it to disperse far beyond its patch of forest floor. Circaea lutetiana belongs not to the infamous nightshade family but rather to the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), with its name steeped in mystery: Circaea honors Circe, the enchantress of Greek legend, while lutetiana is derived from Lutetia, the Latin name for Paris, once nicknamed the “Witch City.” Ecologically, it plays a quiet but important role, attracting small pollinators like halictid bees, carpenter bees, syrphid flies, and bee flies, while also offering sustenance to leaf-mining moth larvae such as mompha terminella. Its ability to spread both by rhizomes and seeds enables it to form lush colonies in shaded environments. (July)