Solanum triflorum
Solanum aviculare
cut-leaf nightshade, three flower nightshade
New Zealand nightshade
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 1–1.5 cm;
blade simple, elliptic, 10–30 × 2–15 cm, margins entire or coarsely pinnatifid with 1–3 lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate.
extra-axillary, unbranched, umbel-like, 1–6-flowered, 1–3 cm.
leaf-opposed or in branch fork, unbranched or forked, to 10-flowered, to 15 cm.
spreading and 0.5–1.5 cm in flower, reflexed and 0.5–1.5 cm in fruit.
1.5–2 cm in flower and fruit.
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, 3–4 mm, glabrous, lobes deltate;
corolla blue to deep purple, rotate-stellate, lobes acute at apex, 3–4 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 3–4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that sometimes open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
shiny dark green to purplish black, globose, 0.8–2 cm diam., glabrous, with 13–30 sclerotic granules.
bright orange to red, obovoid to ellipsoidal, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 cm, glabrous, with sclerotic granules inconspicuous to absent.
yellow, plump, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
reddish brown, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1.5–2 mm, finely reticulate.
= 24.
= 46.
Solanum triflorum
Solanum aviculare
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.)
The name Solanum laciniatum Aiton has been misapplied to S. aviculare (for example, M. Nee 1993). Although only S. aviculare is listed in that treatment as occurring in California, both S. aviculare and S. laciniatum apparently are found there, and most photos labeled S. aviculare on the CalFlora website are of S. laciniatum. Solanum laciniatum has notched and ruffled corolla lobes with abundant interpetalar tissue (versus acute and entire corolla lobes with little interpetalar tissue in S. aviculare) and yellow fruits (versus red) with numerous stone cells (versus stone cells inconspicuous to absent).
Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum have been introduced from Australia and New Zealand as ornamentals and now are found in scattered localities in California, especially near the coast. Some plants have escaped and become naturalized, and these species have the potential to be invasive in the future.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
