Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum jamaicense
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
Jamaican nightshade
petiolate;
petiole 0.2–1 cm;
blade simple, elliptic, 1–9 × 0.5–4.5 cm, margins entire, base acute to attenuate.
petiolate or sessile;
petiole to 1 cm;
blade simple, rhombic, 4–13 × 3–8 cm, margins entire or with 2–5 shallow lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate and decurrent.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
extra-axillary, unbranched, 5–15-flowered, 1–3 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
0.5–1 cm in flower, 1–1.5 cm 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, 2–7 mm, moderately to densely stellate-pubescent, hairs long-stalked, lobes linear;
corolla white, stellate, 1–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 3.5–5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary glabrous to very sparsely glandular-puberulent.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
bright shiny red to orange, globose, 0.4–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
yellow, flattened, 1–1.5 × 0.5–1 mm, minutely pitted and ridged.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum jamaicense
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 jamaicense is thought to have been spread to Florida by birds that eat the bright red berries. It was first seen in the state in 1930 and, although locally invasive in hammocks of central Florida, has not become a widespread pest.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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