Solanum dulcamara |
Solanum bahamense |
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bitter nightshade, bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, blue bindweed, climbing nightshade, European bittersweet, felonwort |
Bahama nightshade, Rugel's nightshade |
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Habit | Shrubs or small trees, erect, sparsely to densely armed (at least when young), to 4 m, prickles yellow or orange, straight, to 10 mm, sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs sessile, stellate, 6–8-rayed, central ray usually shorter than lateral rays, sometimes absent, occasionally as long as or longer than lateral rays. | |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 0.5–5 cm; blade simple, elliptic or ovate to cordate, 2.5–12 × 1.2–9 cm, margins entire to deeply pinnatifid and usually 3-lobed near base, lobe margins entire, base truncate to cordate. |
petiolate; petiole 0.1–2.7 cm; blade simple, narrowly elliptic, 2–21 × 0.5–5.5 cm, margins entire or shallowly lobed, base attenuate to rounded. |
Inflorescences | terminal or lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, 7–40-flowered, (1–)4–15 cm. |
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, usually unbranched, 30+-flowered, to 15 cm. |
Pedicels | inserted into a small sleeve on the inflorescence axis, 0.6–1.2 cm in flower and fruit. |
0.8–1.5 cm in flower, 1–2 cm and recurved to one side of the inflorescence in fruit. |
Flowers | radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 1–2 mm, glabrous to densely pubescent, lobes triangular, shallow; corolla purple (rarely white), with green and white shiny spots at base of each lobe, deeply stellate, 1.5–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 4.5–6 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that often open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 1.5–2.5 mm, moderately stellate-pubescent, lobes triangular; corolla white or violet, stellate, 1.5–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 5.5–8 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores, anther tube densely stellate-pubescent within; ovary glabrous or sparsely pubescent with short-glandular hairs. |
Berries | bright shiny red, globose to ellipsoidal, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–1 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
bright shiny red, globose, 0.5–0.7 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | pale yellow or tan, flattened, 2–3 mm diam., minutely pitted. |
pale tan, flattened, 2–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
Vines | , climbing or scrambling, herbaceous or woody, unarmed, to 8–10 m, sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs unbranched and/or dendritic, rarely glabrous. |
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2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum dulcamara |
Solanum bahamense |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Nov. | Flowering year-round. |
Habitat | Weedy, in a wide variety of habitats, often associated with water. | Coastal forests, forest and beach margins, dunes, often on coral or calcareous soils. |
Elevation | 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Eurasia
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FL; West Indies
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Discussion | Solanum dulcamara is widely distributed across Eurasia and boreal North America. The North American populations are thought to be introductions, but it is possible that the species has a truly circumboreal distribution. A white-flowered form has been recognized by some authors as S. dulcamara forma albiflorum House and an especially pubescent form as S. dulcamara var. villosissimum, but variation in a number of morphological features is continuous across the range of the species and these and other variants are not recognized in the latest monograph of the group (S. Knapp 2013). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Solanum bahamense is morphologically variable, especially in leaf shape, hair morphology, prickle density, and corolla color. Using morphological and molecular data, R. Strickland-Constable et al. (2010) established that several formerly recognized taxa are encompassed within its range of variability and should be considered as synonyms of S. bahamense. It is unique among the North American spiny solanums in having stellate hairs on the inner (adaxial) surface of the anthers. Solanum bahamense occurs in southern Florida and the Keys and throughout the Caribbean. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | Solanaceae > Solanum | Solanaceae > Solanum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. dulcamara var. villosissimum | S. bahamense var. luxurians, S. bahamense var. rugelii, S. racemosum |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 185. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 188. (1753) |
Web links |
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