Solanum mauritianum
Solanum pseudocapsicum
earleaf nightshade
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
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 0.2–1 cm;
blade simple, elliptic, 1–9 × 0.5–4.5 cm, margins entire, base acute to attenuate.
terminal, becoming leaf-opposed, much-branched, 50–100-flowered, 5–24 cm.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
erect and 0.2–0.5 cm in flower and fruit.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
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, 2.5–6 mm, glabrous to densely pubescent with dendritic hairs, lobes long-triangular;
corolla white, stellate, 1–1.5(–2.5) cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers oblong, 3–4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
yellow, globose, 1–1.5 cm diam., tomentose, without sclerotic granules.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum mauritianum
Solanum pseudocapsicum
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 pseudocapsicum is native from Mexico to Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay. It is grown as an ornamental for its showy fruits, especially around Christmas. It occasionally escapes from cultivation in southern Florida and Texas. In Texas, it has become established and fairly common in Austin, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and in Goliad and Caldwell counties. Cultivated forms are usually glabrous, but some can have branched pubescence. The fruits are mildly poisonous when ingested by humans but can be highly toxic to dogs and some birds.
Solanum pseudocapsicum, along with S. diphyllum, has a distinctive leaf arrangement in which a longer, narrower leaf is paired with a shorter, often more rounded one.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CalFlora
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
