Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum nigrum |
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Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade |
black nightshade, European black nightshade |
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Habit | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrous to densely pubescent, hairs dendritically branched. | Herbs, annual or perennial, erect or sprawling, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrescent to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 1 mm, usually eglandular or occasionally glandular. |
Leaves | 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, 3.5–7 × 2.2–5 cm, margins entire to coarsely toothed with 3–5 lobes per side, base truncate to cuneate. |
Inflorescences | leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched or occasionally forked, racemelike, (3–)4–10-flowered, 1–2 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit. |
0.5–1 cm, spreading to occasionally recurved in flower and fruit. |
Flowers | 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, 1.5–2 mm, sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate, spreading to reflexed in fruit; corolla white with yellowish central star, stellate, 1–1.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, (1.8–)2–2.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
dull or slightly shiny purple-black or green to yellowish green, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
yellow, flattened, 1.8–2 × 1.5–1.6 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 72. |
Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum nigrum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering May–Oct. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Disturbed areas, irrigated fields. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | 0–2200 m. (0–7200 ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; often escaped in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide [Introduced in North America]
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AK; CA; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; MA; MD; ME; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NV; NY; OK; OR; PA; TX; UT; VA; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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Discussion | 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.) |
Many regional floras have used Solanum nigrum as the name for various species in the black nightshade group, and it can be difficult to distinguish this species from S. emulans and S. nigrescens. Solanum nigrum can be distinguished from the native North American species of the black nightshade group (S. americanum, S. douglasii, S. emulans, S. interius, S. nigrescens) by its thicker peduncles and pedicels, larger seeds, and fruits lacking sclerotic granules. Solanum nigrum was probably introduced from northern Europe and has been locally naturalized in North America. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. |
Parent taxa | Solanaceae > Solanum | Solanaceae > Solanum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. capsicastrum | S. nigrum subsp. schultesii |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 184. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 186. (1753) |
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