Solanum nigrescens |
Solanum lumholtzianum |
|
---|---|---|
divine nightshade |
Sonoran nightshade |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, erect to somewhat sprawling, unarmed, to 3 m, nearly glabrous to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 1 mm, eglandular. | Herbs, annual, erect, moderately to densely armed, 0.2–0.7 m, prickles whitish or yellowish, straight, bristlelike, 4–8 mm, 20+ per cm of stem, sparsely pubescent, hairs sessile to short-stalked, unbranched, glandular, sometimes with a few unbranched, eglandular hairs, abaxial leaf surfaces with sparse, sessile, 4–6-rayed, stellate hairs, central ray equal to lateral rays. |
Leaves | 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 2.5–6.5 cm; blade simple to compound, broadly ovate, 5–13 × 2.5–9 cm, margins 2–3-times lobed or divided with 4–5 main leaflets per side, leaflets with deep, acute lobes, base truncate. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, umbel-like to racemelike, (2–)5–10-flowered, 1–3.5 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, 6–10-flowered, 3–8 cm. |
Pedicels | spreading and 0.5–1 cm in flower, spreading and 1–1.5 cm in fruit. |
0.5–1.5 cm in flower, erect and 0.5–1.5 cm in fruit. |
Flowers | 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. |
bilaterally symmetric; calyx accrescent and tightly covering fruit, densely prickly, 3.5–4.5 mm, sparsely to moderately glandular-pubescent, lobes linear-lanceolate; corolla yellow, stellate, 1.3–1.8 cm diam., with ovate or narrowly deltate lobes, with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens unequal, lowermost longer and curved, adjacent pair somewhat shorter, uppermost pair shortest; anthers narrow and tapered, dehiscent by terminal pores, shortest anthers 4.5–6 mm, medium-sized anthers 5.6–7.5 mm, longest anther 6.5–8.6 mm; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | dull green or purplish, globose, 0.5–0.8 cm diam., glabrous, with (4–)5–6(–13) sclerotic granules. |
brown, globose, 1–1.4 cm diam., glabrous, dry, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | tan, flattened, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, finely pitted. |
dark brown, plump, 3–3.5 × 2.5–3 mm, radially ridged with hilum sunken in a deep notch. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum nigrescens |
Solanum lumholtzianum |
|
Phenology | Flowering year-round. | Flowering Aug–Oct. |
Habitat | Deciduous and coniferous forests, fields, swampy areas. | Sandy or gravelly soils, washes, low ground near wet depressions, along stream banks, roadsides. |
Elevation | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) | 900–1400 m. (3000–4600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; LA; MS; NC; NM; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
|
AZ; Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora) |
Discussion | 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.) |
In the flora area, Solanum lumholtzianum is found only in Pima and Santa Cruz counties. (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 | ||
Name authority | M. Martens & Galeotti: Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 12(1): 140. (1845) | Bartlett: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 44: 629. (1909) |
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