Wow, that’s quite early! I was wondering if they were particularly late ripening, because then it would make sense for them to be frost-sweetened. Those really do sound like berries worth saving seeds from! 
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Yea, they probably mis-labled it. I wounder if it could’ve been some hawthorne. What color were the berries you tried?
Super excited to see some interest, I just bought some landrace njama njama seeds (S. Scabrum) that were cultivated for edible leaves specifically, but they seem to imply the fruit could be sketchy. Hoping for a low input ~perennial green that I can enjoy the fruits of too!
I’ve sampled various black nightshades (there are some wild/rugged ones weedy around town) but haven’t gotten the nerve to try more unripe or various leaves due to being scared about toxicity. Any suggestions for how careful (or not?) I need to be or what to look for flavor wise?
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That’s an interesting correlation, I think it’s still worth trying the fruits. That being said Forager Samuel Thayer was foraging wild Black Nightshade greens, which probably taste even worse than those bred for edible leaves. I think timing plays a huge role in how edible your greens will be, don’t harvest by the time plants make flowers.
That being said, Toxicity Concentration is influenced by genetics thus don’t eat any bitter/distasteful greens. Pick tender greens/shoots before the plants flower & try eating them after cooking for 10-15 minutes & draining water. If they still taste bad, then consider that particular strain not edible.
They should taste like Spinach with rich mild Green-bean Green pepper flavor and soft texture. Don’t disappoint too much if yours is bitter, as there are still so many incredible Amaranthaceae, Malvaceae & Brassicaceae family greens!
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Thanks for the breakdown of the flavors and the note on timing, seems like a lot of the ‘wilder’ greens lean on young/immature leaves. I’ll have to look for Samuel Thayer’s info - I think I have one of his foraging books somewhere on the shelf I haven’t looked at in a while!
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@mm980 Here’s an excerpt from his book on Black Nightshades.
This is actually true for most if not all greens in general, reguardless of wild or domesticated. The best parts of kale, mustard, broccoli, arugula, basil, squash, tree spinach, asparagus, peas, and many other edible greens are the tender leaves/shoots.
It’s the same reason why old yellow kale or spinach leaves are often discarded, even tho they are still technically edible, just not as good as the fresh stuff. Often times it’s not a poisonous thing, but simply a matter of patability & digestibility (Just depends on the plant in question).