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Chilean jessamine, green poison berry

dama-de-noche, iki he po, night cestrum, night flowering jessamine, night jasmine, night jessamine, night-blooming jessamine, queen of the night, thauthau ni mbongi

Habit Shrubs, to 2 m; stems glabrous or pubescent; axillary branches usually subtended by 1–3 minor leaves. Shrubs or trees, 1–12 m; young stems sparsely pubescent, hairs glandular; axillary branches not subtended by minor leaf.
Leaves

petiole 6–10 mm;

blade narrowly ovate, narrowly elliptic, narrowly ovate-elliptic, or narrowly oblong-elliptic, 4.1–8.7 × 1.2–3 cm.

petiole 5–18 mm;

blade ovate, elliptic, or ovate-elliptic, 3.7–21 × 1.4–8.5 cm.

Inflorescences

1 per axil, each cluster 1–6-flowered.

1–3 per axil, each cluster 1–4-flowered.

Flowers

calyx 4.5–5.5 × 2–2.8 mm, lobes 3 or 5, erect, 1.2–1.5 mm;

corolla pale yellow to pale green, 18–22 mm, lobes 4–4.5 mm.

calyx 2.2–3.5 × 1.2–1.8 mm, lobes 5, erect or spreading, 0.5–1 mm;

corolla pale yellow to pale green, 16–24 mm, lobes 2–4.5 mm.

Berries

black, 7–9 × 3–6.5 mm.

white, 5–11 × 5–9 mm.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Cestrum parqui

Cestrum nocturnum

Phenology Flowering mid-summer–winter. Flowering mid-summer–winter.
Habitat Disturbed forest, secondary scrub, riversides. Secondary scrub, forest edges, roadsides.
Elevation 60–400 m. (200–1300 ft.) 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; FL; TX; South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; FL; LA; Mexico (Chiapas, Morelos, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Yucatán); Central America (Nicaragua, Panama); South America (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cestrum parqui has the potential to become an invasive species where it has escaped in the United States.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Cestrum nocturnum is considered to be an agricultural and environmental weed (R. P. Randall 2002).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Cestrum Solanaceae > Cestrum
Sibling taxa
C. diurnum, C. nocturnum
C. diurnum, C. parqui
Name authority L’Héritier: Stirp. Nov. 4: 73, plate 36. (1788) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 191. (1753)
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