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Brazilian nightshade

wild potato

Habit Herbs, perennial, erect, unarmed, bearing tubers to 2 cm long, to 0.5 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs unbranched, gland-tipped.
Leaves

petiolate;

petioles twining around supports, 1–4 cm;

blade simple to compound, elliptic to broadly ovate, (2–)3.5–10(–13) × (1–)2–9(–11) cm, margins entire to divided with up to 4 pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base truncate or slightly cordate.

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.

Inflorescences

terminal, becoming lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, to 100+-flowered, to 25+ cm.

terminal, extra-axillary, generally forked or 3-fid, 4–10(–20)-flowered, to 3 cm.

Pedicels

inserted into small sleeve on inflorescence axis, 0.8–1.4 cm in flower and fruit.

articulated near middle, 1.6–3 cm in flower and fruit.

Flowers

radially symmetric;

calyx not accrescent, unarmed, ca. 0.5 mm, nearly truncate, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on lobe tips;

corolla purple, stellate, 1–2.5 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue;

stamens unequal due to unequal filaments;

anthers ellipsoidal, 2–3 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;

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.

Berries

bright shiny red, globose, 0.8–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.

green, globose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.

Seeds

pale yellowish tan, flattened, 4–4.5 × 2.5-3 mm, minutely pitted.

dark reddish brown, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose.

Climbing

or scrambling vines, woody, unarmed, to ca. 3 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs white, unbranched, ca. 0.2 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Solanum seaforthianum

Solanum jamesii

Phenology Flowering year-round. Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat Disturbed sites. Hillsides, stream bottoms, sandy soils, disturbed grasslands, pinyon-juniper forests, oak thickets, coniferous and deciduous forests.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) 1300–2900 m. (4300–9500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Mexico; West Indies; Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); South America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America; introduced also elsewhere in South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Peru), Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Solanum seaforthianum is widely cultivated as an ornamental and sporadically escapes in Florida. A similar species with twining petioles, S. laxum Sprengel, is occasionally cultivated in California. It is distinguished from S. seaforthianum by having tufts of hairs in the vein axils of the abaxial leaf surfaces, white rather than violet corollas, and equal stamens.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Solanum Solanaceae > Solanum
Sibling taxa
S. americanum, S. aviculare, S. bahamense, S. campechiense, S. capsicoides, S. carolinense, S. chenopodioides, S. citrullifolium, S. cordicitum, S. davisense, S. deflexum, S. dimidiatum, S. diphyllum, S. donianum, S. douglasii, S. dulcamara, S. elaeagnifolium, S. emulans, S. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. jamesii, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, S. mauritianum, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, S. nitidibaccatum, S. novomexicanum, S. perplexum, S. pseudocapsicum, S. pseudogracile, S. pumilum, S. rostratum, S. sarrachoides, S. setigeroides, S. sisymbriifolium, S. stoloniferum, S. tampicense, S. tenuipes, S. torvum, S. triflorum, S. triquetrum, S. umbelliferum, S. viarum, S. wallacei
S. americanum, S. aviculare, S. bahamense, S. campechiense, S. capsicoides, S. carolinense, S. chenopodioides, S. citrullifolium, S. cordicitum, S. davisense, S. deflexum, S. dimidiatum, S. diphyllum, S. donianum, S. douglasii, S. dulcamara, S. elaeagnifolium, S. emulans, S. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, S. mauritianum, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, S. nitidibaccatum, S. novomexicanum, S. perplexum, S. pseudocapsicum, S. pseudogracile, S. pumilum, S. rostratum, S. sarrachoides, S. seaforthianum, S. setigeroides, S. sisymbriifolium, S. stoloniferum, S. tampicense, S. tenuipes, S. torvum, S. triflorum, S. triquetrum, S. umbelliferum, S. viarum, S. wallacei
Name authority Andrews: Bot. Repos. 8: plate 504. (1808) Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 227. (1827)
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