Solanum dulcamara |
Solanum rostratum |
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bitter nightshade, bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, blue bindweed, climbing nightshade, European bittersweet, felonwort |
buffalo berry, buffalo-bur, buffalobur nightshade, horned nightshade, spiny nightshade |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, erect, moderately to densely armed, to 1 m, prickles yellow, straight, to 12 mm, moderately to densely pubescent, hairs sessile to long-stalked, stellate, 6–10-rayed, central ray equal to 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 2–10 cm; blade simple to twice-compound, ovate to elliptic, (2–)4–16 × 3–12 cm, margins lobed to 1–2 times divided with 2–4 main leaflets per side, leaflets with deep, rounded lobes, base truncate to subcordate. |
Inflorescences | terminal or lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, 7–40-flowered, (1–)4–15 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, 5–12-flowered, 4–11 cm. |
Pedicels | inserted into a small sleeve on the inflorescence axis, 0.6–1.2 cm in flower and fruit. |
0.5–1.5 cm in flower, erect and 0.5–1.5 cm 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. |
bilaterally symmetric; calyx accrescent and tightly covering fruit, densely prickly or bristly, 7.5–12.5 mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes linear to lanceolate; corolla yellow, rotate-pentagonal, 1.5–3.5 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens unequal, lowermost much longer and curved; anthers narrow and tapered, dehiscent by terminal pores, short anthers 4, yellow, 6–8 mm, longer anther reddish or purplish, 10–14 mm; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | bright shiny red, globose to ellipsoidal, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–1 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
brown, globose, 1–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, dry, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | pale yellow or tan, flattened, 2–3 mm diam., minutely pitted. |
dark brown, flattened, 2–3 × 1.8–2 mm, minutely pitted and irregularly ridged. |
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 rostratum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Nov. | Flowering year-round. |
Habitat | Weedy, in a wide variety of habitats, often associated with water. | Disturbed sites, versatile in soil tolerance, roadsides, pasturelands. |
Elevation | 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) | 0–2500 m. (0–8200 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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AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; QC; Mexico
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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 rostratum is widespread in the central Mexican highlands from Chihuahua and Coahuila to Puebla and Oaxaca, and its native range likely extends from Mexico City north to the United States Great Plains. It is widely introduced outside this presumed area of origin. Solanum rostratum is considered a noxious weed in several states. It is often invasive in gardens, pastures, and disturbed areas. The plants are extremely spiny, and there are reports of pigs being poisoned by eating the berries and roots. This species is thought to be the original host of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) before potatoes were widely cultivated in the western and central United States. The beetle then adopted potatoes as its primary host and rapidly spread eastward. (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 | Androcera rostrata, S. heterandrum |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 185. (1753) | Dunal: Hist. Nat. Solanum, 234, plate 24. (1813) |
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