Solanum elaeagnifolium |
Solanum sisymbriifolium |
|
---|---|---|
horse nettle, silver-leaf nightshade, white horse-nettle |
sticky nightshade, viscid nightshade |
|
Habit | Herbs or shrubs, perennial, erect, rhizomatous, sparsely to densely armed, to 1 m, prickles orange to brown, straight, to 5 mm, densely silvery-pubescent, hairs sessile or subsessile, stellate, scalelike, 10–15-rayed, central ray shorter than lateral rays, lateral rays fused at center. | Herbs, annual, erect, sparsely to moderately armed, 1–1.5 m, prickles yellow, straight or curved, 1–15 mm, densely pubescent, hairs unbranched, glandular and stellate, sessile, 4–7-rayed, central ray glandular or eglandular, longer than lateral rays. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 1–5 cm; blade simple, lanceolate to oblong, 5–15 × 0.5–3 cm, margins undulate, subentire to sinuate or shallowly lobed, lobe margins entire, base truncate to cuneate. |
petiolate; petiole 2–5 cm; blade simple to compound, broadly ovate, 8–15 × 3–8.5 cm, margins deeply lobed to divided with 4–7 lobes or leaflets per side, lobes or leaflets with rounded to acute lobes, base acute or cordate. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, unbranched, 3–5(–7)-flowered, 3–5 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, 4–11-flowered, 4–15 cm. |
Pedicels | 1–3 cm in flower, reflexed and 1–3 cm in fruit. |
0.5–1 cm in flower, 1.5–2.5 cm in fruit. |
Flowers | radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed or with sparse prickles, 5–10 mm, densely silvery-stellate-pubescent, lobes linear-lanceolate; corolla pale to deep blue or violet, rarely white, pentagonal-stellate, 2–3(–3.5) cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 6–9 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous to densely stellate-pubescent. |
radially symmetric; calyx accrescent, moderately prickly, 6–9 mm, densely pubescent, hairs simple or sessile and stellate, glandular and eglandular, lobes subtending to almost completely and loosely covering fruit at maturity, deltate; corolla white or pale blue, rotate-pentagonal, 2–3 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal or nearly so; anthers narrow and tapered, 8–10 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous to sparsely glandular-pubescent. |
Berries | yellow to orange, drying brown or black, globose, 0.5–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
bright red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous to sparsely glandular-pubescent, juicy, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened, 3–5 × 2–4 mm, minutely pitted. |
pale yellow, plump, 3–3.5 × 2–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24, 48, 72. |
= 24. |
Solanum elaeagnifolium |
Solanum sisymbriifolium |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Nov. | Flowering Feb–Oct. |
Habitat | Dry sites, open woods, disturbed areas, roadsides, railroads, fields. | Disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–2100 m. (0–6900 ft.) | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; GA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SC; TN; TX; UT; WA; Mexico; West Indies; South America (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) [Introduced elsewhere in South America (Colombia, Peru), Eurasia (Mediterranean, Middle East, India, Pakistan), Africa, Australia]
|
AL; AZ; CA; DE; FL; GA; LA; MA; MS; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; TX; VA; ON; South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America (Costa Rica), nw South America, Europe, Asia (China, India), Africa]
|
Discussion | Solanum elaeagnifolium has a disjunct native distribution. It occurs in arid regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico and also in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. North American plants are diploid, whereas those in Argentina are diploid, tetraploid, or hexaploid. It is invasive and considered a noxious weed in 21 states in the flora area as well as in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It is toxic to livestock and can form large, rhizomatous patches that are difficult to eradicate. A white-flowered form has been recognized as Solanum elaeagnifolium forma albiflorum Cockerell. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The bright red fruits of Solanum sisymbriifolium are edible, and the plants are used in pest control and as a nematode and beetle trap in Europe and the United Kingdom; however, cultivation of this species should be discouraged due to its invasive potential. Reports of this species from Oregon are old; it is not naturalized there. (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 | ||
Name authority | Cavanilles: Icon. 3: 22, plate 243. (1795) | Lamarck: Tabl. Encycl. 2: 25. (1794) — (as sisymbrifolium) |
Web links |
|