Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum americanum
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
American black nightshade, American black or common or West Indian nightshade, glossy nightshade, little white nightshade, small-flower nightshade, white nightshade
petiolate;
petiole 0.2–1 cm;
blade simple, elliptic, 1–9 × 0.5–4.5 cm, margins entire, base acute to attenuate.
petiolate;
petiole 1–4 cm;
blade simple, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 2–10.5 × 1–4.5 cm, margins entire or shallowly sinuate-dentate, base decurrent.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, usually umbel-like, 3–10-flowered, 0.5–3 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
erect or spreading, 0.3–1 cm in flower, to 1.5 cm in fruit.
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.
radially symmetric;
calyx somewhat accrescent, unarmed, 1–3 mm, lobes deltate, strongly reflexed in fruit;
corolla white, sometimes with yellowish central star, stellate, 0.4–0.8 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers ellipsoidal, 0.7–1.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
shiny purplish black, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with (0–)2–4(–6) sclerotic granules, usually 2–4 larger and 2 smaller.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
pale yellow to brown, 1–1.5 × 0.5–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum americanum
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.)
Solanum americanum is a morphologically variable and globally distributed weedy species. It has often been confused with other species in the black nightshade group such as S. emulans, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, and S. pseudogracile and has often been referred to as S. nodiflorum in floristic treatments. It is distinguished by its very short anthers and shiny black mature fruits with strongly reflexed calyx lobes and usually two to four (rarely none or as many as six) sclerotic granules per fruit. Leaf shape and pubescence can vary considerably throughout its range, and there are some suspected cases of introgression with other species such as S. nigrescens or S. pseudogracile. The name S. nigrum has been misapplied to S. americanum (for example, A. E. Radford et al. 1968).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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