Solanum viarum |
Solanum laciniatum |
|
---|---|---|
tropical soda apple |
kangaroo-apple |
|
Habit | Shrubs, erect, sparsely armed, 0.5–2 m, prickles white or yellowish, straight or recurved, 1–25 mm, densely pubescent, hairs unbranched, short-glandular and longer-eglandular, with sessile, stellate hairs on abaxial leaf surface, these 4(–5)-rayed, central ray shorter than lateral rays. | Shrubs, erect, unarmed, 1–3 m, glabrous. |
Leaves | 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 1–1.5 cm; blade simple, elliptic, 10–30 × 1.5–15 cm, margins entire to coarsely pinnatifid with 1–3 lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, sessile or nearly so, unbranched, 3–5-flowered. |
leaf-opposed or in branch forks, unbranched or forked, to 10-flowered, 5–15 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.7–1.1 cm in flower, 1–2 cm in fruit. |
1.5–3 cm in flower and fruit. |
Flowers | 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 somewhat accrescent, unarmed, 3–4 mm, glabrous, lobes deltate; corolla blue to deep purple, rotate-stellate, 3–5 cm diam., lobes notched at apex, 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. |
Berries | light green mottled with dark green when young, yellow when ripe, globose, (1.5–)2–3 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. |
yellow to orange-yellow, ovoid to obovoid, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 cm, glabrous, with abundant sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | reddish brown, flattened, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
reddish brown, flattened, 2.5–3 × 2–2.5 mm, concentrically reticulate. |
2n | = 24. |
= 92. |
Solanum viarum |
Solanum laciniatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–frost (year-round in Fla.). | Flowering Jan–Jul. |
Habitat | Pastures, roadsides, disturbed areas. | Open, disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; PA; SC; TN; TX; South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay); introduced also in Asia (India); Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
CA; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | 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 laciniatum has often been confused with S. aviculare in floras. See discussion under 2. S. aviculare. (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 | ||
Name authority | Dunal in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 13(1): 240. (1852) | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 1: 247. (1789) |
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