8 Weeds That Look Like Pepper Plants

It is important to differentiate between pepper plants and their look like weeds to keep your garden clutter free and safe.

Botanical Name: Solanum nigrum

Found In: Eurasia, Australasia, and South Africa.

Black Nightshade is a poisonous weed that may resemble young pepper plants to some gardeners. However, its white flowers give it away.

Botanical Name: Solanum ptychanthum

Found In: United States

You can find this weed causing problems in northeastern crop production. Its berries and foliage contain solanine, which can pose health risks upon ingestion.

Botanical Name: Phytolacca americana

Found In: Southeastern Canada and Eastern United States

Pokeweed has the same leaf structure as pepper plants and is common in damp fields. Its ingestion can cause severe poisoning.

Botanical Name: Amaranthus retroflexus

Found In: Southeast Asia, Bangladesh

Green Amaranth features broad leaves in early growth, and can be mistaken for pepper leaves. However, it grows taller and has spiked green flowers.

Botanical Name: Polygonum spp.

Found In: North America, Canada

People in ancient times used its leaves to relieve swelling and itching. You can easily spot them in wet forests, swamps, or marshes.

Botanical Name: Solanum americanum

Found In: America, Melanesia, and Australia.

Both peppers and this share similar leaf and growth patterns. This one has a more bushy growth pattern and might be poisonous.

Botanical Name: Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Found In: North American continent

Common ragweed stands out with its feather leaves and green flowers. However, in the seedling stage, it might have a similar leaf shape to the pepper plant.

Botanical Name: Physalis angulata

Found In: North and South America

The leaves of this weed are elongated with slightly wavy edges,