Nightlock

Nightlock berries in the 74th Hunger Games.

"Not these, Katniss. Never these. They're nightlock. You'll be dead before they reach your stomach."

— Mr. Everdeen to Katniss, on the dangers of consuming nightlock

Nightlock is a wild plant with extremely poisonous berries. Katniss first heard about this plant from her father, who cautioned her that anyone who ate nightlock would be dead before the berries even reached their stomach. Although this phrasing may be an exaggeration, the plant's effects are indisputable: Foxface indeed died very quickly after consuming nightlock. The only known sources for these deadly berries are the land around Districts 12 and 13, though they were also featured in the arena of the 74th Hunger Games.

History

74th Hunger Games

Peeta and Katniss find Foxface's body after she ate the berries.

Foxface, the female tribute from District 5, stole nightlock berries that Peeta had gathered, and died after consuming them. Peeta himself had mistaken them for edible berries (possibly the blueberry-like berries that Rue had shown Katniss when they had formed an alliance). Katniss stopped him from eating any, remembering her father's warning, though she and Peeta kept some in a bag in case they could trick Cato into eating them.

On the last morning of the Games, after Cato's death, the previous rule change allowing two victors was revoked. Instead of battling against Peeta, however, Katniss pulled out the nightlock berries, which she and Peeta threatened to consume and leave the games with no victor at all. Before they could swallow them, Claudius Templesmith took back the change, and both were announced as victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

Later uses

Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane later lost his life for allowing both Katniss and Peeta to emerge as victors. His specific manner of death is never explained in the novels, though near the end of The Hunger Games film, he was locked in a room containing only a bowl of nightlock berries. The shot ended before anything else happened, though the implications are clear. This cruel twist was likely ordered by President Snow.

During the Second Rebellion, soldiers from District 13, including Katniss herself, were given specifically formulated poison capsules to swallow in the event they were captured. Dubbed "nightlock", they were known to have the same effect as the berries themselves.

Nightlock was also the keyword for the Holo used by Squad 451 during their infiltration of the Capitol. When said three times in a row, the word caused the Holo to self-destruct, blowing up everything in a five-yard radius.

Real plants similar to nightlock

Deadly nightshade (atropa belladonna)

The name "nightlock" is derived from two real-life plants: Atropa belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, and Conium maculatum, also known as poison hemlock, both of which are extremely poisonous. Deadly nightshade berries are similar in appearance to nightlock, and both nightlock and real-life hemlock are commonly mistaken for edible plants—nightlock for Rue's berries and hemlock for wild carrots. Seneca Crane's execution by nightlock berries in the film is reminiscent of Socrates' execution by hemlock, after he was tried for "corrupting the youth" of Athens, as well as "questioning the gods".

Trivia

• Nightlock is said to look like an edible type of berry Rue had found in the arena, which may be blueberries, since they fit the same description.
• In the making of the first movie, the stylists were said to be annoyed with the berries, as they stained the actors' clothing.