The title compound, C11H12N2O2·3C6H5NO3, comprises a zwitterionic amino acid formed by two nearly planar groups: (i) the indole ring and Cβ, and (ii) the carboxyl group, Cα, as well as the amine N atom, with r.m.s. deviations of 0.0084 and 0.0038 Å, respectively. The angle between these idealized planes is 39.47 (9)°. The amine group of the amino acid is in a syn (−sc) arrangement relative to the ring system. The overall crystal structure results from the packing of sheets parallel to the (001) planes. These sheets are formed by a pair of screw axis related parallel networks bound by hydrogen-bond and π–π stacking interactions. The intermolecular cohesion of all organic residues in each of the latter two-dimensional networks is achieved via strong hydrogen bonding, nitro–π and π–π stacking interactions.