Solanum nigrescens
Solanum dimidiatum
divine nightshade
Torrey nightshade, Torrey's nightshade, western horsenettle
petiolate;
petiole 0.5–2 cm;
blade simple, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 4–10.5 × 2–5 cm, margins entire or shallowly sinuate-dentate, base decurrent.
petiolate;
petiole 1–4 cm;
blade simple, ovate, 6–15 × 3–10 cm, margins sinuate or shallowly to deeply lobed with 2–4 lobes per side, lobe margins entire to coarsely lobed, base truncate to cuneate and often oblique.
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, umbel-like to racemelike, (2–)5–10-flowered, 1–3.5 cm.
extra-axillary, 1–several times branched, to ca. 20-flowered, 6–14 cm.
spreading and 0.5–1 cm in flower, spreading and 1–1.5 cm in fruit.
1–2.5 cm in flower, 1.5–3 cm and curved downward in fruit.
radially symmetric;
calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 1–2 mm, sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate;
corolla white, rarely purplish, often with green or purplish central star, stellate, 1–1.5 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers ellipsoidal, 2–3 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
radially symmetric;
calyx not accrescent, unarmed or with sparse prickles, 6–14 mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes ovate-lanceolate;
corolla lavender, pale blue, or sometimes white, stellate to stellate-pentagonal or rotate-stellate, 2–4.6 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue at margins and bases of lobes;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 5–9 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary minutely pubescent, hairs simple and stellate, rarely densely stellate-pubescent, glandular and eglandular.
dull green or purplish, globose, 0.5–0.8 cm diam., glabrous, with (4–)5–6(–13) sclerotic granules.
yellow, subovoid to depressed-globose, 1–2 × 1–2.5 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
tan, flattened, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, finely pitted.
yellow, flattened, 1.9–3 × 1.7–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
= 72.
Solanum nigrescens
Solanum dimidiatum
Solanum nigrescens is widespread in Central and northern South America and the Caribbean and extends northward into the southeastern United States along the Gulf Coast and slightly inland. Where sympatric with S. americanum, it can be distinguished by its longer anthers and dull green or purplish berries with appressed to spreading calyx lobes. Plants collected as weeds in rice and sugarcane fields of Louisiana and provisionally identified as the Chinese species S. merrillianum T. N. Liou are somewhat intermediate between S. americanum and S. nigrescens and could represent recent hybrid populations (S. Knapp et al. 2019). Solanum nigrescens differs from S. douglasii in its shorter anthers and longer filaments relative to anther length; moreover, S. douglasii is usually found west of the Rocky Mountains, whereas S. nigrescens occurs in the southeastern United States. The ranges of S. nigrescens and S. interius overlap (for example, in Texas). Solanum nigrescens may be distinguished from S. interius by its usually acute calyx lobes, smaller seeds, and more numerous sclerotic granules in the fruits. Solanum nigrescens differs from S. nigrum in its more slender peduncles and pedicels, smaller seeds, and fruits with sclerotic granules.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Solanum dimidiatum is found mainly in the southcentral United States, with outlier populations in Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina. The species is introduced in California, where it is considered a noxious weed by the California Department of Agriculture.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
LA Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MO Plants
