Woolly nightshade (tobacco tree)

Woolly nightshade is a fast-growing soft-wooded shrub or small tree from South America with large, velvety grey-green leaves covered in dense star-shaped hairs. It bears clusters of purple star flowers and round yellow berries, and it has become an aggressive invader of disturbed land and forest edges on oceanic islands, including the Azores.

• Its dense felt of tiny star-shaped hairs can irritate skin and airways, which is why it is sometimes called 'flannel weed'.
• Birds love the yellow berries and spread the seeds far and wide, making it one of the worst woody invaders in New Zealand, South Africa and the Azores.
• Despite the nickname 'tobacco tree' it is not a tobacco at all, just a relative with similarly big soft leaves.

Care
This is an invasive weed in mild oceanic climates rather than a garden plant; if it appears on your land, pull seedlings early before they set berries.