Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum setigeroides |
|
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Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade |
bristly nightshade |
|
Habit | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrous to densely pubescent, hairs dendritically branched. | Herbs, annual, spreading, branching from near base, densely armed, 0.3–0.7 m, prickles straight, 4–8 mm, 30+ per cm of stem, sparsely pubescent, hairs ca. 0.2 mm, stipitate-glandular, abaxial leaf surfaces also with scattered, sessile, 4–6-rayed, stellate hairs, central ray equal to lateral rays. |
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 2–7 cm; blade simple to compound, broadly ovate to deltate, 4–11 × 4–8 cm, margins twice-lobed to twice-divided with 2–3 main leaflets per side, leaflets with obtuse or rounded lobes, base truncate. |
Inflorescences | leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, 5–9-flowered, 4–10 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit. |
1–2 cm in flower, erect and 1–2 cm in 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. |
bilaterally symmetric; calyx accrescent and tightly covering fruit, densely prickly, 4.5–6.5 mm, sparsely glandular-pubescent, lobes lanceolate; corolla violet or blue, pentagonal, 1–1.5 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens unequal, lowermost much longer and curved; anthers narrow and tapered, dehiscent by terminal pores, short anthers 2–4 mm, longer anther 3.5–5 mm; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | yellow to orange or red, globose, 1–2 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
brown, globose, 1–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, dry, without sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
dark brown, flattened, 2.5–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted and weakly ridged or faceted. |
2n | = 24. |
|
Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum setigeroides |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering Jun–Oct. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Silty, sandy, or gravelly soils, playas, dunes, streambeds, arroyos, open hillsides. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | 600–2000 m. (2000–6600 ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; often escaped in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide [Introduced in North America]
|
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua) |
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.) |
Solanum setigeroides is a weed of disturbed and overgrazed places ranging from central Arizona and New Mexico to extreme western Texas. (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. heterodoxum var. setigeroides |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 184. (1753) | (Whalen) S. R. Stern: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 8: 5. (2014) |
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