Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum donianum
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
mullein 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 1–3 cm;
blade simple, ovate to elliptic, 4.5–13 × 2–5.5 cm, margins entire, base rounded to acute.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
terminal to extra-axillary, much-branched, with numerous flowers, 2–8 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
erect and 0.7–1 cm in flower and 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, 2–4 mm, moderately stellate-pubescent, lobes triangular;
corolla white, stellate, 1.5–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 3–4.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
red, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
yellow, flattened, 2.5–3.5 × 1.5–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum donianum
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 donianum is occasional in southern Florida. The oldest name for this species is S. verbascifolium Linnaeus, but it has been widely misapplied to S. erianthum and is now rejected.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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USDA Plants Database
