Solanum triflorum |
Solanum americanum |
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cut-leaf nightshade, three flower nightshade |
American black nightshade, American black or common or West Indian nightshade, glossy nightshade, little white nightshade, small-flower nightshade, white nightshade |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, decumbent to prostrate, unarmed, to 0.4 m, fleshy, nearly glabrous to moderately pubescent, hairs unbranched, to 2 mm, eglandular, rarely glandular. | Herbs to subshrubs, annual to perennial, erect, unarmed, to 1.5 m, glabrate to moderately pubescent, hairs whitish, unbranched, to 1 mm, eglandular. |
Leaves | 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. |
petiolate; petiole 1–4 cm; blade simple, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 2–10.5 × 1–4.5 cm, margins entire or shallowly sinuate-dentate, base decurrent. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, unbranched, umbel-like, 1–6-flowered, 1–3 cm. |
extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, unbranched, usually umbel-like, 3–10-flowered, 0.5–3 cm. |
Pedicels | spreading and 0.5–1.5 cm in flower, reflexed and 0.5–1.5 cm in fruit. |
erect or spreading, 0.3–1 cm in flower, to 1.5 cm in fruit. |
Flowers | 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. |
radially symmetric; calyx somewhat accrescent, unarmed, 1–3 mm, lobes deltate, strongly reflexed in fruit; corolla white, sometimes with yellowish central star, stellate, 0.4–0.8 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, 0.7–1.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. |
Berries | shiny dark green to purplish black, globose, 0.8–2 cm diam., glabrous, with 13–30 sclerotic granules. |
shiny purplish black, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with (0–)2–4(–6) sclerotic granules, usually 2–4 larger and 2 smaller. |
Seeds | yellow, plump, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
pale yellow to brown, 1–1.5 × 0.5–1.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum triflorum |
Solanum americanum |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Sep. | Flowering May–Nov (year-round in Fla.). |
Habitat | Disturbed areas, roadsides, stream banks, along railroad tracks, prairie dog towns. | Weedy habitats, secondary forest, disturbed areas. |
Elevation | (0–)700–2900 m. ((0–)2300–9500 ft.) | 0–1000(–2000) m. (0–3300(–6600) ft.) |
Distribution |
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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AL; AZ; CA; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; OR; SC; TX; UT; WA; BC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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Discussion | 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.) |
Solanum americanum is a morphologically variable and globally distributed weedy species. It has often been confused with other species in the black nightshade group such as S. emulans, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, and S. pseudogracile and has often been referred to as S. nodiflorum in floristic treatments. It is distinguished by its very short anthers and shiny black mature fruits with strongly reflexed calyx lobes and usually two to four (rarely none or as many as six) sclerotic granules per fruit. Leaf shape and pubescence can vary considerably throughout its range, and there are some suspected cases of introgression with other species such as S. nigrescens or S. pseudogracile. The name S. nigrum has been misapplied to S. americanum (for example, A. E. Radford et al. 1968). (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. nigrum var. americanum, S. nigrum var. nodiflorum, S. nodiflorum, S. ptychanthum | |
Name authority | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 128. (1818) | Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8 Solanum no. 5. (1768) |
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