Solanum mauritianum |
Solanum americanum |
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earleaf nightshade |
American black nightshade, American black or common or West Indian nightshade, glossy nightshade, little white nightshade, small-flower nightshade, white nightshade |
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Habit | Shrubs or small trees, erect, unarmed, 2–12 m, densely pubescent, hairs white, sessile to long-stalked, stellate to echinoid. | Herbs to subshrubs, annual to perennial, erect, unarmed, to 1.5 m, glabrate to moderately pubescent, hairs whitish, unbranched, to 1 mm, eglandular. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 1–8 cm; blade simple, elliptic to ovate, 11–31 × 4–14 cm, margins entire, base acute, often with smaller axillary leaves. |
petiolate; petiole 1–4 cm; blade simple, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 2–10.5 × 1–4.5 cm, margins entire or shallowly sinuate-dentate, base decurrent. |
Inflorescences | terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 50–100-flowered, 5–24 cm. |
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, usually umbel-like, 3–10-flowered, 0.5–3 cm. |
Pedicels | erect and 0.2–0.5 cm in flower and fruit. |
erect or spreading, 0.3–1 cm in flower, to 1.5 cm in fruit. |
Flowers | radially symmetric; calyx slightly accrescent, unarmed, 4–7.5 mm, densely pubescent, lobes deltate; corolla purple, stellate-pentagonal, 1–1.5 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, 2–3.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary tomentose. |
radially symmetric; calyx somewhat accrescent, unarmed, 1–3 mm, lobes deltate, strongly reflexed in fruit; corolla white, sometimes with yellowish central star, stellate, 0.4–0.8 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, 0.7–1.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow, globose, 1–1.5 cm diam., tomentose, without sclerotic granules. |
shiny purplish black, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with (0–)2–4(–6) sclerotic granules, usually 2–4 larger and 2 smaller. |
Seeds | yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted. |
pale yellow to brown, 1–1.5 × 0.5–1.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum mauritianum |
Solanum americanum |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jul. | Flowering May–Nov (year-round in Fla.). |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Weedy habitats, secondary forest, disturbed areas. |
Elevation | 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) | 0–1000(–2000) m. (0–3300(–6600) ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; FL; South America (Brazil, Uruguay) [Introduced also in Asia (India), Africa, Atlantic Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia] |
AL; AZ; CA; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; OR; SC; TX; UT; WA; BC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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Discussion | In Florida, Solanum mauritianum has become naturalized and common only at one site in Pasco County. It also occurs frequently in southern California from Santa Barbara south to San Diego with urban waifs in the Bay Area. It appears to be spreading into relatively undisturbed riparian areas in the San Gabriel Mountains and may become a widespread pest. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Solanum americanum is a morphologically variable and globally distributed weedy species. It has often been confused with other species in the black nightshade group such as S. emulans, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, and S. pseudogracile and has often been referred to as S. nodiflorum in floristic treatments. It is distinguished by its very short anthers and shiny black mature fruits with strongly reflexed calyx lobes and usually two to four (rarely none or as many as six) sclerotic granules per fruit. Leaf shape and pubescence can vary considerably throughout its range, and there are some suspected cases of introgression with other species such as S. nigrescens or S. pseudogracile. The name S. nigrum has been misapplied to S. americanum (for example, A. E. Radford et al. 1968). (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 | ||
Synonyms | S. auriculatum | S. nigrum var. americanum, S. nigrum var. nodiflorum, S. nodiflorum, S. ptychanthum |
Name authority | Scopoli: Delic. Fl. Faun. Insubr. 3: 16, plate 8. (1788) | Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8 Solanum no. 5. (1768) |
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