Solanum viarum |
Solanum nitidibaccatum |
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tropical soda apple |
hairy nightshade, hoe nightshade |
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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. | Herbs, annual, erect or prostrate, unarmed, to 0.2(–0.4) m, moderately to densely pubescent, hairs unbranched, 1.5–2 mm, glandular. |
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 0.5–3 cm; blade simple, ovate to lanceolate, 2–10 × 1–5 cm, margins entire to sinuate-dentate, base cuneate to decurrent. |
Inflorescences | extra-axillary, sessile or nearly so, unbranched, 3–5-flowered. |
usually extra-axillary, occasionally leaf-opposed, unbranched, 4–8(–10)-flowered, 1–2 cm. |
Pedicels | 0.7–1.1 cm in flower, 1–2 cm in fruit. |
spreading to reflexed and 0.4–1 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 accrescent and covering ca. one-half berry, unarmed, 3–4 mm, sparsely to moderately pubescent, lobes broadly triangular; corolla white with yellowish central star edged with reddish purple to dark brown, rotate-stellate, 0.5–1 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers ellipsoidal, 1–1.4 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that 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. |
shiny greenish to purplish brown, globose, 0.5–1 cm diam., glabrous, with (0–)2–3 sclerotic granules. |
Seeds | reddish brown, flattened, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted. |
yellow to brown, flattened, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Solanum viarum |
Solanum nitidibaccatum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–frost (year-round in Fla.). | Flowering May–Oct. |
Habitat | Pastures, roadsides, disturbed areas. | Disturbed areas, fields. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | (0–)1200–2500 m. ((0–)3900–8200 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]
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AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MA; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NM; NV; NY; OR; PA; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; BC; MB; NB; ON; QC; South America (Argentina, Chile) [Introduced in Europe, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia] |
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 nitidibaccatum has often been confused with and misidentified as S. sarrachoides, which has a much longer fruiting calyx that nearly covers the mature berry. Solanum nitidibaccatum also differs from S. sarrachoides in its smaller leaves, larger number of flowers per inflorescence (four to eight versus three or four in S. sarrachoides), and fruits with usually two or three sclerotic granules (versus four to six in S. sarrachoides). Most references to Solanum sarrachoides in North American floras are actually S. nitidibaccatum. Solanum nitidibaccatum has also been confused with S. villosum Miller (R. L. McGregor 1986). J. M. Edmonds (1986) regarded S. nitidibaccatum as a variety of S. physalifolium, but the two taxa are now recognized as distinct species, with S. physalifolium restricted to South America. The name S. physalifolium, however, has been used for S. nitidibaccatum in a number of North American floras. Solanum nitidibaccatum is currently considered to be native to both North and South America. It is a common weed in cultivated fields in the Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, and adjacent parts of Canada. (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. physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum | |
Name authority | Dunal in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 13(1): 240. (1852) | Bitter: Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 11: 208. (1912) |
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