Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense L.) Other Name: Bullnettle Life Cycle: Perennial. Growing Season: May to October. Plant Characteristics: Seedling Stage: Small cotyledons and tough hypocotyl covered with short and stiff trichomes (spines). Roots: fribrous taproot with subterranean rhizhomes. Stems: Erect to closely braching with thick nodes; covered short gray hairs and stiff yellow trichomes a plant matures. Leaves: Pubescent (hairy) leaves. Alternate with simple petiole. Dark green, oval at the top and pale at the bottom. There are white hairs and scattered spines along the central vein on the underside of each leaf. Flower/Seed Head: Star-shaped flowers in a racemelike cluster (like tomato flowers). Seed or fruits are round and green berries and turning yellow-orange as they mature. Berries can be piosnous to livestock Reproduction: rhizomes.