Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum triflorum |
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Jerusalem cherry, Jerusalem- or winter-cherry, Jerusalem-cherry nightshade |
cut-leaf nightshade, three flower nightshade |
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Habit | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, to 1 m, glabrous to densely pubescent, hairs dendritically branched. | Herbs, annual, decumbent to prostrate, unarmed, to 0.4 m, fleshy, nearly glabrous to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 2 mm, eglandular, rarely 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 0.5–2.5 cm; blade simple, elliptic to oblong, 2–5 × 1–3 cm, margins shallowly lobed to deeply and regularly pinnatifid with 3–6 lobes per side, lobe margins entire or occasionally coarsely lobed, base cuneate and decurrent. |
Inflorescences | leaf-opposed, unbranched, 1–8-flowered, 0.2–1 cm. |
extra-axillary, unbranched, umbel-like, 1–6-flowered, 1–3 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.3–0.7 cm in flower, 0.8–1 cm and erect in fruit. |
spreading and 0.5–1.5 cm in flower, reflexed and 0.5–1.5 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. |
radially symmetric; calyx accrescent and covering base of berry, unarmed, 2–4(–7) mm, moderately pubescent, lobes deltate, reflexed; corolla white or light purple with green or purplish central star, stellate, 0.5–1 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrowly ellipsoidal, 2.5–4 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. |
shiny dark green to purplish black, globose, 0.8–2 cm diam., glabrous, with 13–30 sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | yellowish, flattened with thickened margins, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, minutely pitted. |
yellow, plump, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum pseudocapsicum |
Solanum triflorum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering Apr–Sep. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites. | Disturbed areas, roadsides, stream banks, along railroad tracks, prairie dog towns. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | (0–)700–2900 m. ((0–)2300–9500 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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AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; SK; South America (Argentina) [Introduced in Europe, Africa, 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.) |
Solanum triflorum is found in South America (Argentina) and is also considered to be native to central and western North America. It is occasionally adventive in the eastern United States. It is poisonous to livestock and can become a serious weed in cultivated fields, especially in the Great Plains. (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 | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 184. (1753) | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 128. (1818) |
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