Solanum mauritianum |
Solanum laciniatum |
|
---|---|---|
earleaf nightshade |
kangaroo-apple |
|
Habit | Shrubs or small trees, erect, unarmed, 2–12 m, densely pubescent, hairs white, sessile to long-stalked, stellate to echinoid. | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, 1–3 m, glabrous. |
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 1–1.5 cm; blade simple, elliptic, 10–30 × 1.5–15 cm, margins entire to coarsely pinnatifid with 1–3 lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate. |
Inflorescences | terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 50–100-flowered, 5–24 cm. |
leaf-opposed or in branch forks, unbranched or forked, to 10-flowered, 5–15 cm. |
Pedicels | erect and 0.2–0.5 cm in flower and fruit. |
1.5–3 cm in flower and 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, 3–4 mm, glabrous, lobes deltate; corolla blue to deep purple, rotate-stellate, 3–5 cm diam., lobes notched at apex, with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 3–4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that sometimes open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow, globose, 1–1.5 cm diam., tomentose, without sclerotic granules. |
yellow to orange-yellow, ovoid to obovoid, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 cm, glabrous, with abundant sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted. |
reddish brown, flattened, 2.5–3 × 2–2.5 mm, concentrically reticulate. |
2n | = 24. |
= 92. |
Solanum mauritianum |
Solanum laciniatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jul. | Flowering Jan–Jul. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Open, disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; FL; South America (Brazil, Uruguay) [Introduced also in Asia (India), Africa, Atlantic Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia] |
CA; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia [Introduced in North America] |
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 laciniatum has often been confused with S. aviculare in floras. See discussion under 2. S. aviculare. (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 | |
Name authority | Scopoli: Delic. Fl. Faun. Insubr. 3: 16, plate 8. (1788) | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 1: 247. (1789) |
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