Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum dimidiatum
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
Torrey nightshade, Torrey's nightshade, western horsenettle
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, 6–15 × 3–10 cm, margins sinuate or shallowly to deeply lobed with 2–4 lobes per side, lobe margins entire to coarsely lobed, base truncate to cuneate and often oblique.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
extra-axillary, 1–several times branched, to ca. 20-flowered, 6–14 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
1–2.5 cm in flower, 1.5–3 cm and curved downward 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 not accrescent, unarmed or with sparse prickles, 6–14 mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes ovate-lanceolate;
corolla lavender, pale blue, or sometimes white, stellate to stellate-pentagonal or rotate-stellate, 2–4.6 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue at margins and bases of lobes;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 5–9 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary minutely pubescent, hairs simple and stellate, rarely densely stellate-pubescent, glandular and eglandular.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellow, subovoid to depressed-globose, 1–2 × 1–2.5 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
yellow, flattened, 1.9–3 × 1.7–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
= 72.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum dimidiatum
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 dimidiatum is found mainly in the southcentral United States, with outlier populations in Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina. The species is introduced in California, where it is considered a noxious weed by the California Department of Agriculture.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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