Flora of North America species comparison

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Solanum erianthum

mullein nightshade, potato tree
Habit Shrubs or small trees, erect, unarmed, 2–8 m, densely pubescent, hairs sessile to short-stalked, stellate to echinoid.
Leaves

petiolate;

petiole 1–10 cm;

blade simple, elliptic to ovate, 10–25 × 3–15 cm, margins entire, base rounded or acute.
Inflorescences

terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 10–50-flowered, 5–20 cm.
Pedicels

0.2–0.6 cm in flower, erect and 0.4–10 cm in fruit.
Flowers

radially symmetric;

calyx accrescent and subtending fruit, unarmed, 5–7 mm, densely pubescent, hairs stellate to echinoid, lobes broadly triangular;

corolla white, stellate, 1–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;

stamens equal;

anthers oblong, 2.5–3.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;

ovary tomentose, hairs stellate or echinoid.
Berries

yellow to orange, globose, 1–2 cm diam., densely pubescent, without sclerotic granules.
Seeds

yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
2n

= 24.

Solanum erianthum
Phenology Flowering Apr–Oct (year-round in Fla.).
Habitat Hammocks, pinelands, disturbed sites.
Elevation 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; South America (Colombia) [Introduced in Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (including the Galapagos Islands), Australia]
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In the United States, Solanum erianthum is common only in central to southern Florida and in extreme southern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico.

The name Solanum verbascifolium Linnaeus has been widely misapplied to S. erianthum (K. E. Roe 1968), but is a synonym of S. donianum that has now been rejected.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Solanum
Sibling taxa
S. americanum, S. aviculare, S. bahamense, S. campechiense, S. capsicoides, S. carolinense, S. chenopodioides, S. citrullifolium, S. cordicitum, S. davisense, S. deflexum, S. dimidiatum, S. diphyllum, S. donianum, S. douglasii, S. dulcamara, S. elaeagnifolium, S. emulans, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. jamesii, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, S. mauritianum, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, S. nitidibaccatum, S. novomexicanum, S. perplexum, S. pseudocapsicum, S. pseudogracile, S. pumilum, S. rostratum, S. sarrachoides, S. seaforthianum, S. setigeroides, S. sisymbriifolium, S. stoloniferum, S. tampicense, S. tenuipes, S. torvum, S. triflorum, S. triquetrum, S. umbelliferum, S. viarum, S. wallacei
Name authority D. Don: Prodr. Fl. Nepal., 96. (1825)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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