Solanum nigrescens
Solanum wallacei
divine nightshade
Catalina nightshade, greasy or Santa Catalina or Wallace's nightshade, northern island nightshade, Wallace's nightshade
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 1–2.5(–4) cm;
blade simple, elliptic to obovate, 3–11(–14) × 1.6–5.5(–9) cm, margins entire or slightly undulate, occasionally with 2 small lobes at base, lobe margins entire, base truncate or acute.
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, umbel-like to racemelike, (2–)5–10-flowered, 1–3.5 cm.
terminal or lateral, leaf-opposed or extra-axillary, usually once-branched, occasionally more, 20–30-flowered, (2–)4–10 cm.
spreading and 0.5–1 cm in flower, spreading and 1–1.5 cm in fruit.
inserted into small sleeve on inflorescence axis, 1.5–2 cm in flower and 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, 6–7 mm, densely pubescent, lobes deltate;
corolla violet to purple with or without green spots at base of lobes, spots usually small and not confluent, rotate, 3–4.5 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers ellipsoidal, 4.5–5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
dull green or purplish, globose, 0.5–0.8 cm diam., glabrous, with (4–)5–6(–13) sclerotic granules.
shiny green, turning yellow then black, globose, 3–4 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
tan, flattened, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, finely pitted.
reddish brown, plump to flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
Solanum nigrescens
Solanum wallacei
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 wallacei is endemic to Santa Catalina Island.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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