Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Solanum mauritianum

Solanum jamaicense

earleaf nightshade

Jamaican nightshade
Habit Shrubs or small trees, erect, unarmed, 2–12 m, densely pubescent, hairs white, sessile to long-stalked, stellate to echinoid. Shrubs, erect to scandent, 1–2 m, moderately armed, prickles yellow to green, recurved, to 8 mm, moderately to densely white-pubescent, hairs short-stalked, stellate, 6–8-rayed, central ray shorter than or equal to lateral rays.
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 or sessile;

petiole to 1 cm;

blade simple, rhombic, 4–13 × 3–8 cm, margins entire or with 2–5 shallow lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate and decurrent.
Inflorescences

terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 50–100-flowered, 5–24 cm.

extra-axillary, unbranched, 5–15-flowered, 1–3 cm.
Pedicels

erect and 0.2–0.5 cm in flower and fruit.

0.5–1 cm in flower, 1–1.5 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 not accrescent, unarmed, 2–7 mm, moderately to densely stellate-pubescent, hairs long-stalked, lobes linear;

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

stamens equal;

anthers narrow and tapered, 3.5–5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;

ovary glabrous to very sparsely glandular-puberulent.
Berries

yellow, globose, 1–1.5 cm diam., tomentose, without sclerotic granules.

bright shiny red to orange, globose, 0.4–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
Seeds

yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted.

yellow, flattened, 1–1.5 × 0.5–1 mm, minutely pitted and ridged.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Solanum mauritianum

Solanum jamaicense
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Disturbed sites. Lakesides, shaded hammocks.
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; FL; South America (Brazil, Uruguay) [Introduced also in Asia (India), Africa, Atlantic Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
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 jamaicense is thought to have been spread to Florida by birds that eat the bright red berries. It was first seen in the state in 1930 and, although locally invasive in hammocks of central Florida, has not become a widespread pest.

(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
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. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. jamesii, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, 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
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. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, 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
Synonyms S. auriculatum
Name authority Scopoli: Delic. Fl. Faun. Insubr. 3: 16, plate 8. (1788) Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Solanum no. 17. (1768)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers