Solanum viarum
Solanum hindsianum
tropical soda apple
Hinds' nightshade, Hinds' or Baja or Sonoran 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;
petioles 0.5–1.5 cm;
blade simple, ovate to elliptic, (1–)2–6.5 × (0.5–)1–3(–4.5) cm, margins entire or undulate, base rounded to truncate and usually oblique.
extra-axillary, sessile or nearly so, unbranched, 3–5-flowered.
extra-axillary, unbranched, 3–4-flowered, 3–4 cm.
0.7–1.1 cm in flower, 1–2 cm in fruit.
0.4–1.5 cm in flower, erect and 1–2 cm in fruit.
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, 8–10(–20) mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes long-triangular to linear-lanceolate;
corolla violet, pentagonal, 2.5–4(–5) cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue;
stamens equal or slightly unequal;
anthers narrow and tapered, 6–10 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;
ovary glabrous.
light green mottled with dark green when young, yellow when ripe, globose, (1.5–)2–3 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.
light green, sometimes with darker mottling, drying dark brown or reddish brown, globose, 1–1.5(–2) cm diam., glabrous, cracking open to expose seeds, without sclerotic granules.
reddish brown, flattened, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.
dark brown, flattened, 2–3 mm diam., minutely pitted.
= 24.
Solanum viarum
Solanum hindsianum
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 hindsianum is endemic to the Sonoran Desert of extreme southern Arizona and northern Mexico. In Arizona, it is known only from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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