Solanum elaeagnifolium |
Solanum stoloniferum |
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horse nettle, silver-leaf nightshade, white horse-nettle |
Fendler wild potato, Fendler's horsenettle, wild potato |
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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, perennial, erect, bearing tubers to 3 cm, unarmed, to 0.7 m, sparsely to densely pubescent to strigose, hairs unbranched, eglandular. |
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 1.5–4 cm, with pair of entire lunate pseudostipules at base; blade compound, elliptic to ovate, 7.5–20 × 3.5–8 cm, margins divided with 1–4 pairs of leaflets, these sometimes interspersed with smaller, interjected leaflets, lowermost leaflets sometimes greatly reduced in size, leaflet margins entire, base cuneate to cordate. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, unbranched, 3–5(–7)-flowered, 3–5 cm. |
terminal, extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, generally forked or 3-fid, 3–26-flowered, to 10 cm. |
Pedicels | 1–3 cm in flower, reflexed and 1–3 cm in fruit. |
articulated near middle, 1.1–3.7 cm in flower and 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 not accrescent, unarmed, 4–8 mm, lobes deltate-acuminate; corolla purple, blue, pale pink, or rarely white, pentagonal to rotate, 1.8–3.3 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 3.5–6.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow to orange, drying brown or black, globose, 0.5–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
green, sometimes with dark green stripes or white spots, globose or slightly ovoid, 0.9–1.7 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened, 3–5 × 2–4 mm, minutely pitted. |
greenish white, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose. |
2n | = 24, 48, 72. |
= 48. |
Solanum elaeagnifolium |
Solanum stoloniferum |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Nov. | Flowering Jul–Oct(–Nov). |
Habitat | Dry sites, open woods, disturbed areas, roadsides, railroads, fields. | Hillsides, stream bottoms, sandy soils, disturbed areas in grasslands, pinyon-juniper forests, alpine meadows, coniferous and deciduous forests. |
Elevation | 0–2100 m. [0–6900 ft.] | 1400–3100 m. [4600–10200 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]
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AZ; NM; TX; Mexico
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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.) |
Solanum stoloniferum is widespread in highland Mexico. Its northern range extends into New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and southwestern Texas. It is one of the most common and polymorphic species of wild potatoes in North America and Mexico. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. fendleri, S. fendleri subsp. arizonicum, S. fendleri var. texense, S. leptosepalum | |
Name authority | Cavanilles: Icon. 3: 22, plate 243. (1795) | Schlechtendal: Linnaea 8: 255. (1833) |
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