Solanum nigrum |
Solanum seaforthianum |
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black nightshade, European black nightshade |
Brazilian nightshade |
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Habit | Herbs, annual or perennial, erect or sprawling, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrescent to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 1 mm, usually eglandular or occasionally glandular. | |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 0.5–3 cm; blade simple, ovate, 3.5–7 × 2.2–5 cm, margins entire to coarsely toothed with 3–5 lobes per side, base truncate to cuneate. |
petiolate; petioles twining around supports, 1–4 cm; blade simple to compound, elliptic to broadly ovate, (2–)3.5–10(–13) × (1–)2–9(–11) cm, margins entire to divided with up to 4 pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base truncate or slightly cordate. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, unbranched or occasionally forked, racemelike, (3–)4–10-flowered, 1–2 cm. |
terminal, becoming lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, to 100+-flowered, to 25+ cm. |
Pedicels | 0.5–1 cm, spreading to occasionally recurved in flower and fruit. |
inserted into small sleeve on inflorescence axis, 0.8–1.4 cm in flower and fruit. |
Flowers | radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 1.5–2 mm, sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate, spreading to reflexed in fruit; corolla white with yellowish central star, stellate, 1–1.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, (1.8–)2–2.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, ca. 0.5 mm, nearly truncate, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on lobe tips; corolla purple, stellate, 1–2.5 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens unequal due to unequal filaments; anthers ellipsoidal, 2–3 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | dull or slightly shiny purple-black or green to yellowish green, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
bright shiny red, globose, 0.8–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellow, flattened, 1.8–2 × 1.5–1.6 mm, minutely pitted. |
pale yellowish tan, flattened, 4–4.5 × 2.5-3 mm, minutely pitted. |
Climbing | or scrambling vines, woody, unarmed, to ca. 3 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs white, unbranched, ca. 0.2 mm. |
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2n | = 72. |
= 24. |
Solanum nigrum |
Solanum seaforthianum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Oct. | Flowering year-round. |
Habitat | Disturbed areas, irrigated fields. | Disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–2200 m. (0–7200 ft.) | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; MA; MD; ME; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NV; NY; OK; OR; PA; TX; UT; VA; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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FL; Mexico; West Indies; Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); South America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America; introduced also elsewhere in South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Peru), Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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Discussion | Many regional floras have used Solanum nigrum as the name for various species in the black nightshade group, and it can be difficult to distinguish this species from S. emulans and S. nigrescens. Solanum nigrum can be distinguished from the native North American species of the black nightshade group (S. americanum, S. douglasii, S. emulans, S. interius, S. nigrescens) by its thicker peduncles and pedicels, larger seeds, and fruits lacking sclerotic granules. Solanum nigrum was probably introduced from northern Europe and has been locally naturalized in North America. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Solanum seaforthianum is widely cultivated as an ornamental and sporadically escapes in Florida. A similar species with twining petioles, S. laxum Sprengel, is occasionally cultivated in California. It is distinguished from S. seaforthianum by having tufts of hairs in the vein axils of the abaxial leaf surfaces, white rather than violet corollas, and equal stamens. (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. nigrum subsp. schultesii | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 186. (1753) | Andrews: Bot. Repos. 8: plate 504. (1808) |
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