Solanum americanum

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Solanaceae

Herbs, shrubs , small trees , or climbers . Stems sometimes prickly, rarely thorny; hairs simple , branched, or stellate , sometimes glandular . Leaves alternate, solitary or paired , simple or pinnately compound , without stipules; leaf blade entire, dentate , lobed , or divided . Inflorescences terminal , overtopped by continuing axes, appearing axillary , extra-axillary , or leaf opposed, often apparently umbellate , racemose, paniculate , clustered, or solitary flowers, rarely true cymes, sometimes bracteate . Flowers mostly bisexual , usually regular, 5-merous, rarely 4- or 6-9-merous. Calyx mostly lobed. Petals united . Stamens as many as corolla lobes and alternate with them, inserted within corolla, all alike or 1 or more reduced; anthers dehiscing longitudinally or by apical pores . Ovary 2-5-locular; placentation mostly axile ; ovules usually numerous . Style 1. Fruiting calyx often becoming enlarged, mostly persistent . Fruit a berry or capsule. Seeds with copious endosperm; embryo mostly curved .

About 95 genera with 2300 species: best represented in western tropical America, widespread in temperate and tropical regions ; 20 genera (ten introduced ) and 101 species in China.

Some species of Solanaceae are known in China only by plants cultivated in ornamental or specialty gardens: Atropa belladonna Linnaeus, Cyphomandra betacea (Cavanilles) Sendtner, Brugmansia suaveolens (Willdenow) Berchtold & Presl, Nicotiana alata Link & Otto, and Solanum jasminoides Paxton.[1]

Genus Solanum

Herbs, shrubs , climbers , or small trees , sometimes prickly; hairs simple , branched, or stellate , sometimes glandular . Leaves solitary or paired , simple or pinnately compound , mostly petiolate ; leaf blade entire, dentate , lobed , or parted . Inflorescences axillary , extra-axillary , or leaf opposed, mostly racemose, paniclulate, umbellate , fasciculate, or solitary flowers, without bracts; peduncle branched or not, sometimes obsolete . Flowers bisexual or andromonoecious, mostly actinomorphic , often 5-merous. Calyx mostly lobed partway and splitting further at sinuses. Corolla mostly rotate or stellate. Stamens inserted high in corolla tube ; anthers often connivent or connate around style, dehiscing by apical pores , often later splitting longitudinally. Ovary 2-5-locular, with enlarged placentae; ovules axile , numerous . Stigma small. Fruiting calyx persistent, sometimes enlarged and enclosing berry. Berries mostly juicy. Seeds discoid or lenticular ; embryo strongly curved .

About 1200 species: most in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in the Americas; 41 species in China, about half introduced from elsewhere.[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).[3]

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Solanum americanum auct. non P. Mill. • Solanum americanum var. nodiflorum (Jacq.) Edmonds • Solanum americanum var. patulum (L.) Edmonds • Solanum caribaeum Dunal • Solanum fistulosum Dunal Ex Poir. • Solanum hermannii Dunal • Solanum linnaeanum Hepper & Jaeger • Solanum nigrum var. americanum (P. Mill.) O. E. Schulz • Solanum nigrum var. virginicum L. • Solanum nodiflorum Jacq. • Solanum sodomeum auct. non L.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 2004-2008

Similar Species

Members of the genus Solanum

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1665 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

S. acaule (Wild Andean Potato) · S. aculeastrum (Sodaapple Nightshade) · S. adscendens (Sonoita Nightshade) · S. aethiopicum (Ethiopian Nightshade) · S. aethiopicum 'Burkina Faso' (Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'Gilo Black Stem' (Japanese Golden Eggs) · S. aethiopicum 'Jaxatu Soxna' (African Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'Jilo Tingua Verde Claro' (Indian Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'Keur M'bir N'dao' (African Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'N'drowa' (African Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'N'galam' (African Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'N'goyo' (African Eggplant) · S. aethiopicum 'Ruffled Red' (Japanese Golden Eggs) · S. aethiopicum 'Turkish Orange' (Japanese Golden Eggs) · S. americanum (Apple of Sodom) · S. anguivi (African Nightshade) · S. annuum 'Maor' (Bell Pepper) · S. atropurpureum (Potato Vine) · S. aviculare (Kangaroo Apple) · S. bahamense (Bahama Nightshade) · S. bahamense var. bahamense (Bahama Nightshade) · S. bahamense var. luxurians (Bahama Nightshade) · S. bahamense var. rugelii (Rugel's Nightshade) · S. betaceum (Tamarillo) · S. bulbocastanum (Ornamental Nightshade) · S. bulbocastanum bulbocastanum (Ornamental Nightshade) · S. burbankii (Wonderberry) · S. cajanumense (Tomate Silvestre) · S. campechiense (Redberry Nightshade) · S. candidum (Fuzzyfruit Nightshade) · S. capsicastrum (False Jerusalem Cherry) · S. capsicastrum 'Variegatum' (Variegated False Jerusalem Cherry) · S. capsicoides (Cockroach Berry) · S. cardiophyllum (Heaftleaf Horsenettle) · S. caripense (Mamoncillo) · S. carolinense (Apple of Sodom) · S. carolinense var. carolinense (Carolina Horse-Nettle) · S. carolinense var. floridanum (Carolina Horsenettle) · S. carolinense var. hirsutum (Carolina Horsenettle) · S. chacoense (Wild Andean Potato) · S. chenopodioides (Goosefoot Nightshade) · S. circinatum ramosa (Tomate De ) · S. citrullifolium (Melon-Leaf Nightshade) · S. citrullifolium var. citrullifolium (Watermelon Nightshade) · S. citrullifolium var. setigerum (Watermelon Nightshade) · S. clokeyi (Clokey's Nightshade) · S. commersonii (Commerson's Nightshade) · S. commersonii commersonii (Commerson's Wild Potato) · S. conocarpum (Marron Bacoba) · S. coronopus (Green False-Nightshade) · S. crispum 'Glasnerium' (Blue Potato Vine) · S. crispum 'Glasnevin' (Chilean Potato Tree) · S. crispum 'Variegata' (Chilean Potato Tree) · S. davisense (Davis Horsenettle) · S. demissum (Nightshade) · S. dimidiatum (Torrey Nightshade) · S. diphyllum (Amatillo) · S. donianum (Mullein Nightshade) · S. douglasii (Douglass Nightshade) · S. drymophilum (Erubia) · S. dulcamara (Bitter Nightshade) · S. dulcamara var. dulcamara (Bittersweet Nightshade) · S. dulcamara var. villosissimum (Bittersweet Nightshade) · S. dulcamara 'Variegatum' (Nightshade) · S. elaeagnifolium (Bull Nettle) · S. ellipticum (Velvet Potato Bush) · S. endopogon guianensis (Uluwukusi) · S. erianthum (Mullein Nightshade) · S. fendleri (Fendler Horsenettle) · S. fendleri var. fendleri (Fendler's Horse-Nettle) · S. fendleri var. texense (Texan Horsenettle) · S. ferox (Nightshade) · S. furcatum (Forked Nightshade) · S. gayanum (Chilean Nightshade) · S. giganteum (African Holly) · S. gilo (Gilo) · S. glaucophyllum (Waxyleaf Nightshade) · S. gracilius (Slender Nightshade) · S. granulo-leprosum (Solanum) · S. heterodoxum (Melon-Leaf Nightshade) · S. heterodoxum var. heterodoxum (Melonleaf Nightshade) · S. heterodoxum var. novomexicanum (New Mexican Nightshade) · S. heterodoxum var. setigeroides (Melonleaf Nightshade) · S. hindsianum (Hinds' Nightshade) · S. hirsutum (Carolina Horsenettle) · S. hyporhodium (Cocona) · S. incanum (Nightshade) · S. incompletum (Popolo Ku Mai) · S. indicum (Sparrow´s Brinjal (India)) · S. interius (Deadly Nightshade) · S. jamaicense (Jamaica Nightshade) · S. jamesii (Wild Potato) · S. jasminoides (Jasmine Nightshade) · S. jasminoides 'Album' (Potato Vine) · S. jasminoides 'Variegata' (Variegated Potato Vine) · S. khasianum (Nightshade) · S. lanceifolium (Lanceleaf Nightshade) · S. lanceolatum (Kangaroo Apple) · S. lasiocarpum (Nightshade) · S. lasiophyllum (Flannel Bush)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A contribution to the botany of the Isle of Pines, Cuba, based upon the specimens of plants from that island contained in the herbarium of the Carnegie Museum under date of October, 1916. By O.E. Jennings. n.p., 1917 url p. 249.
• Bartonia;proceedings of the Philadelphia botanical club. .. 29 - 41 1957 - 19 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Botanical Club, Academy of Natural Sciences. url p. 14, p. 14, p. 23, p. 29, p. 80.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 50 2004 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 147, p. 374, p. 577, p. 82, p. 92.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 111.
• Erigenia: journal of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Carbondale, Ill.: The Society, 1982- url p. 15, p. 21, p. 38, p. 68, p. 75, p. 89, p. 90.
• Flora Vitiensis nova: a new Flora of Fiji (spermatophytes only) / Albert C. Smith. Lawaii, Hawaii: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, 1979- url p. 12, p. 13, p. 7.
• Flora of Guatemala / Johnnie L. Gentry, Paul C. Standley. 24 1974 Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, 1974. url p. 104, p. 105.
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1987 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 887.
• Journal of ethnobiology. 24 2004 Flagstaff, Ariz.: Center for Western Studies, 1981- url p. 294, p. 306, p. 41.
• Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. Oxford [etc.]Royal Microscopical Society. url p. 757.
• Leaflets of western botany. San Fransisco:[J. T. Howell], 1932-1966. url , p. 101.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 16 1989 San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931-1989. url p. 55, p. 7.
• National list of scientific plant names. [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 1982- url p. 388.
• Natural areas inventory, Gates County, North Carolina / Raleigh: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1982] url p. 149.
• Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, url p. 48.
• Phytologia memoirs. Plainfield, N.J.: H.N. Moldenke and A.L. Moldenke, 1980- url p. 253, p. 473.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 151, p. 376.
• Poisonous plants of the Midwest / [Urbana]: Dept. of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois, 1983. url p. 12.
• Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 1992 [San Diego, Calif.]: San Diego Society of Natural History, 1990- url p. 32.
• Spixiana. München: Zoologische Staatssammlung München, 1977- url p. 45, p. 48.
• The Bahama flora, New York, The Authors, 1920. url .
• The Bahama flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. New York, The authors, 1920. url p. 383, p. 383, p. 383.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. 69 1955 Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 182, p. 90.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. 39 1958 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 125, p. 174.
• The anthocyanin pigments of plants. By Muriel Wheldale. Cambridge, University Press, 1916. url p. 35.
• The corn field spider community: composition, structure, development and function / by Michael Joseph Plagens. 1985. url p. 10.
• Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science. [Lexington, Ky.]Kentucky Academy of Science, 1923-1997. url p. 148, p. 179.
• Tulane studies in zoology and botany. 24 1983 New Orleans: Tulane University, [1968- url p. 127.
• Vascular plants of the Sangamon River basin; annotated checklist and ecological summary [by] Almut G. Jones and David T. Bell. [Urbana], University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Agriculture, [1974] url p. 68.
• Kuang Ko-zen & Lu An-ming, eds. 1978. Solanaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 67(1): 1-175.
• Kuang Ko-zen & Lu An-ming, eds. 1978. Solanaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 67(1): 1-175.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 30, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 5 providers.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• Solanaceae Source. Release date: November 20, 2008

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• Berkeley Natural History Museums, University and Jepson Herbaria DiGIR provider
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program
• Bundesamt für Naturschutz / Zentralstelle für Phytodiversität Deutschland, Bundesamt fuer Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fuer Phytodiversitaet Deutschland
• Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Nature Herbarium
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Virtual Herbarium Darwin Core format
• GBIF-Spain, Real Jardin Botanico
• , Vascular Plant Herbarium
• Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
• Herbier de la Guyane, Herbier de la Guyane
• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
• , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, Plants of Papua New Guinea
• National Institute of Genetics, ROIS, Herbarium Specimens of Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo Pref., Japan
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plant Herbarium, Oslo
• Oregon State University, Vascular Plant Collection
• School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, The Deaver Herbarium, Northern Arizona University
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium
• University of Washington Burke Museum, Vascular Plant Collection - University of Washington Herbarium
• Utah State University, USU-UTC Specimen Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2676626
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Sol-905
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 4490920
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:818221-1
• MoBot NameID: 29600095
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2714070

Footnotes

1. Zhi-Yun Zhang, Anmin Lu & William G. D'Arcy "Solanaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 300. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Solanum". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 314. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mean = 340.910 meters (1,118.471 feet), Standard Deviation = 733.460 based on 930 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.