Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum nitidibaccatum |
|
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Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade |
hairy nightshade, hoe nightshade |
|
Habit | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrous to densely pubescent, hairs dendritically branched. | Herbs, annual, erect or prostrate, unarmed, to 0.2(–0.4) m, moderately to densely pubescent, hairs unbranched, 1.5–2 mm, glandular. |
Leaves | petiolate; petiole 0.2–1 cm; blade simple, elliptic, 1–9 × 0.5–4.5 cm, margins entire, base acute to attenuate. |
petiolate; petiole 0.5–3 cm; blade simple, ovate to lanceolate, 2–10 × 1–5 cm, margins entire to sinuate-dentate, base cuneate to decurrent. |
Inflorescences | leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm. |
usually extra-axillary, occasionally leaf-opposed, unbranched, 4–8(–10)-flowered, 1–2 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit. |
spreading to reflexed and 0.4–1 cm in flower and fruit. |
Flowers | 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 accrescent and covering ca. one-half berry, unarmed, 3–4 mm, sparsely to moderately pubescent, lobes broadly triangular; corolla white with yellowish central star edged with reddish purple to dark brown, rotate-stellate, 0.5–1 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, 1–1.4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
shiny greenish to purplish brown, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with (0–)2–3 sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
yellow to brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum nitidibaccatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering May–Oct. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Disturbed areas, fields. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | (0–)1200–2500 m. ((0–)3900–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; often escaped in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide [Introduced in North America]
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AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MA; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NM; NV; NY; OR; PA; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; BC; MB; NB; ON; QC; South America (Argentina, Chile) [Introduced in Europe, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia] |
Discussion | 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 nitidibaccatum has often been confused with and misidentified as S. sarrachoides, which has a much longer fruiting calyx that nearly covers the mature berry. Solanum nitidibaccatum also differs from S. sarrachoides in its smaller leaves, larger number of flowers per inflorescence (four to eight versus three or four in S. sarrachoides), and fruits with usually two or three sclerotic granules (versus four to six in S. sarrachoides). Most references to Solanum sarrachoides in North American floras are actually S. nitidibaccatum. Solanum nitidibaccatum has also been confused with S. villosum Miller (R. L. McGregor 1986). J. M. Edmonds (1986) regarded S. nitidibaccatum as a variety of S. physalifolium, but the two taxa are now recognized as distinct species, with S. physalifolium restricted to South America. The name S. physalifolium, however, has been used for S. nitidibaccatum in a number of North American floras. Solanum nitidibaccatum is currently considered to be native to both North and South America. It is a common weed in cultivated fields in the Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, and adjacent parts of Canada. (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. capsicastrum | S. physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 184. (1753) | Bitter: Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 11: 208. (1912) |
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