Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum cordicitum
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
valentine 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 0.5–3 cm;
blade simple, ovate to elliptic, 3–8 × 1.5–4 cm, margins deeply lobed to pinnatifid with 3–4 lobes per side, these shallowly lobed, base obtuse.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
extra-axillary, unbranched, 5–8-flowered, 8–12 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
0.4–1 cm in flower, 1–1.8 cm and erect 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.
bilaterally symmetric;
calyx accrescent and tightly covering fruit, moderately prickly, 4–6 mm, moderately pubescent, lobes narrowly triangular;
corolla white, rotate-stellate, 2–2.5 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue;
stamens unequal, lowermost much longer and curved;
anthers narrow and tapered, dehiscent by terminal pores, short anthers 5–6 mm, longer anther 9–11 mm;
ovary glabrous.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
brown, globose, 1–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, dry, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
dark brown, flattened, reniform, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, reticulately ridged.
= 24.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum cordicitum
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 cordicitum is currently known only from three collections from Jeff Davis County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
