Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum jamesii
Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade
wild potato
petiolate;
petiole 0.2–1 cm;
blade simple, elliptic, 1–9 × 0.5–4.5 cm, margins entire, base acute to attenuate.
petiolate;
petiole 1.5–3.5 cm, sometimes with pair of pinnatifid pseudostipules at base;
blade compound, elliptic to ovate, 7–15 × 4–9 cm, margins divided into 1–4(–5) pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base attenuate.
leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm.
terminal, extra-axillary, generally forked or 3-fid, 4–10(–20)-flowered, to 3 cm.
0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit.
articulated near middle, 1.6–3 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, 4–6 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate-acuminate;
corolla white, stellate, 2.8–3.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 5–6 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
green, globose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted.
dark reddish brown, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Solanum jamesii
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.)
The tubers of Solanum jamesii have been gathered as food by Native Americans, and starch grains identified as S. jamesii from stone tools in Utah form the earliest evidence for the use of potatoes in North America (L. A. Louderback and B. M. Pavlik 2017). All other parts of the plant are toxic.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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USDA Plants Database
