Is it a vine or a shrub? What color are the flowers? There are so many plants in the nightshade family which even includes potatoes and peppers. Are the flowers tiny little purple blooms with a yellow tongue coming out from the middle? If so,it's pretty much a weed and I'd get rid of it. The thing about nightshades is that they are extremely poisonous including the vine I just described. It's toxic to humans and cats and dogs both can easily go into convulsions if they ingest it.

the one i have seems to be bush like, and yes, it does have the tiny purple flowers. that's what made me think it was the same thing i saw at my uncle's, although i noticed his has berries as well. mine is too small for anything, but it's not trailing/vining anywhere, it's staying bush like. i have it in a space that doesn't do too much, no matter what i have planted there in years past, but it's on the inside of my yard, and if it's toxic, i wouldn't want my dog to be anywhere near it, so i guess it's on the out list.

thanks for your help, mwoods, i appreciate it.

I had one grow under one of my dogwoods last year, it got berries in the Fall, didn't get very big, maybe 24" tops. The birds ate the berries, and it doesn't seem to have returned this year. I don't have any dogs or kids and I have a fenced in yard, so I thought, what the heck and let it go. It was near one of the birdbathes and the birds seemed to like it. If you have a dog, I wouldn't chance it, though.

I'm wondering if it's what we call Deadly Nightshade. It produces purple flowers, then bright red poisonous berries. The berries are very attractive to small children, unfortunatelyÂa good reason to rip this plant out wherever it appears.