Solanum erianthum
Solanum jamesii
mullein nightshade, potato tree
wild potato
petiolate;
petiole 1–10 cm;
blade simple, elliptic to ovate, 10–25 × 3–15 cm, margins entire, base rounded or acute.
petiolate;
petiole 1.5–3.5 cm, sometimes with pair of pinnatifid pseudostipules at base;
blade compound, elliptic to ovate, 7–15 × 4–9 cm, margins divided into 1–4(–5) pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base attenuate.
terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 10–50-flowered, 5–20 cm.
terminal, extra-axillary, generally forked or 3-fid, 4–10(–20)-flowered, to 3 cm.
0.2–0.6 cm in flower, erect and 0.4–10 cm in fruit.
articulated near middle, 1.6–3 cm in flower and fruit.
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.
radially symmetric;
calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 4–6 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate-acuminate;
corolla white, stellate, 2.8–3.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 5–6 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
yellow to orange, globose, 1–2 cm diam., densely pubescent, without sclerotic granules.
green, globose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
dark reddish brown, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum erianthum
Solanum jamesii
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.)
The tubers of Solanum jamesii have been gathered as food by Native Americans, and starch grains identified as S. jamesii from stone tools in Utah form the earliest evidence for the use of potatoes in North America (L. A. Louderback and B. M. Pavlik 2017). All other parts of the plant are toxic.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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USDA Plants Database
