Solanum seaforthianum
Solanum perplexum
Brazilian nightshade
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 1–6 cm;
blade simple, broadly ovate, 7–22 × 8–18 cm, margins shallowly to deeply lobed with 2–5 lobes per side, lobe margins entire to coarsely lobed, base truncate to cuneate and often oblique.
terminal, becoming lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, to 100+-flowered, to 25+ cm.
extra-axillary, forked to several times branched, to 15-flowered, 7–15 cm.
inserted into small sleeve on inflorescence axis, 0.8–1.4 cm in flower and fruit.
1–2 cm in flower, curved downward and to ca. 2.4 cm in fruit.
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 or sparsely prickled, 7–13 mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes ovate-lanceolate;
corolla lavender, stellate to stellate-pentagonal or rotate-stellate, 2–4.4 cm diam., with sparse to moderate interpetalar tissue at margins and base of lobes;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 4–10 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary glabrous.
bright shiny red, globose, 0.8–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
yellow, subglobose, 1.8–3.5 × 2–4 cm, glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
pale yellowish tan, flattened, 4–4.5 × 2.5-3 mm, minutely pitted.
yellow, flattened, ca. 2 × 2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
or scrambling vines, woody, unarmed, to ca. 3 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs white, unbranched, ca. 0.2 mm.
= 24.
= ca. 72.
Solanum seaforthianum
Solanum perplexum
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.)
Solanum perplexum is similar to S. dimidiatum and was placed in synonymy with S. dimidiatum by W. G. D’Arcy (1974). The two species can be distinguished by their indumentum [golden stellate hairs with six to eight (rarely as few as four) lateral rays with the central ray one- or two-celled and longer than lateral rays in S. perplexum versus whitish stellate hairs with six to ten (rarely as few as four) lateral rays with the central ray one-celled and equal to or shorter than lateral rays in S. dimidiatum], the larger prickles on the stems and leaves (up to 15 mm in S. perplexum versus up to 6.5 mm in S. dimidiatum), and the larger leaves (up to 22 × 18 cm in S. perplexum versus up to 16 × 10 cm in S. dimidiatum).
Solanum perplexum occurs mainly in the region where the borders of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia meet, with a single outlying population known from western Mississippi.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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