Solanum viarum
Solanum emulans
tropical soda apple
eastern black nightshade, eastern nightshade
petiolate;
petiole 3–6 cm;
blade simple, ovate to suborbiculate, 7–10(–20) × 6–8(–15) cm, margins coarsely lobed with 3–5 lobes per side, lobe margins entire to coarsely toothed, base truncate to cordate.
petiolate;
petiole 1–5 cm;
blade simple, ovate to elliptic, 4.5–10.5 × 2–6 cm, margins entire to sinuate-dentate, base attenuate to rounded.
extra-axillary, sessile or nearly so, unbranched, 3–5-flowered.
extra-axillary, unbranched, umbel-like, (2–)3–6-flowered, 1–2.5 cm.
0.7–1.1 cm in flower, 1–2 cm in fruit.
straight and spreading in flower and recurved to reflexed in fruit, 0.5–1 cm.
radially symmetric;
calyx somewhat accrescent, unarmed or sparsely prickly, 3–4 mm, densely pubescent, lobes triangular;
corolla greenish or whitish, stellate, 1.5–2.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 5.5–7(–10) mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary densely pubescent, hairs glandular and eglandular.
radially symmetric;
calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 2–3 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, lobes appressed in fruit, deltate;
corolla white, sometimes with yellow central star, rarely purplish, stellate, 0.5–1 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal;
anthers ellipsoidal, 1–1.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits;
ovary glabrous.
light green mottled with dark green when young, yellow when ripe, globose, (1.5–)2–3 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
dull or slightly shiny purplish black, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with 6–9 sclerotic granules per fruit.
reddish brown, flattened, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
yellowish, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, finely reticulate.
= 24.
= 24.
Solanum viarum
Solanum emulans
In the United States, Solanum viarum was first collected in Florida in 1988 and has subsequently become an aggressive and invasive species in the Southeast. It is on the Federal Noxious Weeds List and is classified as a noxious weed or plant pest in many states. Cattle and other animals eat the fruits and spread the seeds through their feces, and the seeds are coated with a sticky substance that makes them adhere to farm equipment when the plants are mowed. It can form large patches that are difficult to eradicate due to their extensive root systems and sharp prickles. It is a major agricultural pest and a threat to native ecosystems.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Solanum emulans has often been called S. ptychanthum Dunal (with the variant spelling ptycanthum), but that name is a synonym of S. americanum.
Solanum emulans is the most common species in the black nightshade group in northeastern North America. It can be distinguished from other North American species in the black nightshade group by its unbranched inflorescences, short anthers, appressed fruiting calyx lobes, and numerous sclerotic granules in the fruits.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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