Solanum furcatum |
Solanum triflorum |
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coast nightshade, fork nightshade |
cut-leaf nightshade, three flower nightshade |
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Habit | Herbs, annual or perennial, erect to sprawling, unarmed, to 1 m, sparsely pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 0.5 mm, eglandular. | Herbs, annual, decumbent to prostrate, unarmed, to 0.4 m, fleshy, nearly glabrous to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 2 mm, eglandular, rarely glandular. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 1–3.5 cm; blade simple, ovate-lanceolate, 3–10 × 2–5 cm, margins entire to sinuate-dentate, base cuneate to truncate. |
petiolate; petiole 0.5–2.5 cm; blade simple, elliptic to oblong, 2–5 × 1–3 cm, margins shallowly lobed to deeply and regularly pinnatifid with 3–6 lobes per side, lobe margins entire or occasionally coarsely lobed, base cuneate and decurrent. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, forked, umbel-like or racemelike, 6–14-flowered, 1.5–3 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, umbel-like, 1–6-flowered, 1–3 cm. |
Pedicels | straight and spreading and 0.5–1 cm in flower, strongly reflexed and 0.5–1 cm in fruit. |
spreading and 0.5–1.5 cm in flower, reflexed and 0.5–1.5 cm in fruit. |
Flowers | radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 3–4 mm, sparsely pubescent, lobes obtuse; corolla white to pale purple with yellowish or greenish central star, stellate, 1–2 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, 2.5–3.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
radially symmetric; calyx accrescent and covering base of berry, unarmed, 2–4(–7) mm, moderately pubescent, lobes deltate, reflexed; corolla white or light purple with green or purplish central star, stellate, 0.5–1 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrowly ellipsoidal, 2.5–4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | dull green to purple, globose, 0.5–0.9 cm diam., glabrous, with 6–14 sclerotic granules per fruit. |
shiny dark green to purplish black, globose, 0.8–2 cm diam., glabrous, with 13–30 sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | pale yellow to light brown, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, finely reticulate. |
yellow, plump, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 72. |
= 24. |
Solanum furcatum |
Solanum triflorum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Oct. | Flowering Apr–Sep. |
Habitat | Open and disturbed areas near sea cliffs, bluffs, and on sand dunes. | Disturbed areas, roadsides, stream banks, along railroad tracks, prairie dog towns. |
Elevation | 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) | (0–)700–2900 m. ((0–)2300–9500 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; South America (Argentina, Chile) [Introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; SK; South America (Argentina) [Introduced in Europe, Africa, Australia]
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Discussion | Solanum furcatum is found in coastal environments in the western United States. M. Nee (1993) stated that the name S. gayanum (J. Remy) F. Philippi has been misapplied to plants of S. furcatum, but no basis can be found for this assertion and the two species are morphologically very different. Solanum gayanum, a synonym of S. crispum Ruiz & Pavon, and native to Chile, is cultivated and perhaps naturalized in San Francisco, California (P. A. Munz 1968). Solanum furcatum can be distinguished from the similar and sympatric S. douglasii by its usually forked inflorescences and fruits with usually more than ten sclerotic granules. A distinctive character of S. furcatum is the long style that is about twice the length of the anthers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Solanum triflorum is found in South America (Argentina) and is also considered to be native to central and western North America. It is occasionally adventive in the eastern United States. It is poisonous to livestock and can become a serious weed in cultivated fields, especially in the Great Plains. (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 | Dunal in J. Lamarck et al.: Encycl., suppl. 3: 750. (1814) | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 128. (1818) |
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