Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum carolinense |
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Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade |
apple of sodom, bull nettle, Carolina horse-nettle, Carolina nightshade, devil's tomato, horse nettle |
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Habit | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrous to densely pubescent, hairs dendritically branched. | Herbs or shrubs, perennial, erect, sparsely to moderately armed, to 1.2 m, prickles cream to yellowish, straight, to 6 mm, sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs white to cream, sessile to short-stalked, stellate, 4(–8)-rayed, central ray 1–3(–5)-celled and to 3 mm, longer than lateral rays. | ||||
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 0.4–4 cm; blade simple, ovate, lanceolate, or elliptic, 2–15 × 2–10 cm, margins subentire, sinuate, or lobed with 1–4 lobes per side, sometimes very deeply lobed almost to midrib, lobe margins entire to coarsely lobed, base cuneate. |
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Inflorescences | leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched or rarely forked, 2–12-flowered, 2–9 cm. |
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Pedicels | 0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit. |
0.5–1 cm in flower, 1.2–1.8 cm and curved downward in fruit. |
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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 somewhat accrescent, unarmed or with sparse prickles, 5–8 mm, moderately stellate-pubescent, lobes lanceolate to elliptic-acuminate; corolla white to pale blue or violet, stellate to stellate-pentagonal or rotate-stellate, 2–3 cm diam., with interpetalar tissue at margins and bases of lobes; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 4.5–6.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous or sparsely to moderately glandular-puberulent, rarely moderately pubescent, hairs white, stellate or simple. |
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Berries | yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
light green with darker green mottling or pale greenish white, turning bright yellow, subglobose to depressed-globose, 1–2 × 1–1.8 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
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Seeds | yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
yellow, flattened, 1.7–2.4 × 1.6–1.8 mm, minutely pitted. |
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2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
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Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum carolinense |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | |||||
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | |||||
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 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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North America [Introduced in Europe, Asia, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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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.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||
Parent taxa | Solanaceae > Solanum | Solanaceae > Solanum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | S. capsicastrum | |||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 184. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 187. (1753) | ||||
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