Twoleaf nightshade | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Solanaceae |
Genus: | Solanum |
Species: | S. diphyllum |
Binomial name | |
Solanum diphyllum | |
Distribution of S. diphyllum. Native range is in green. Areas under which it had been naturalized or are widely cultivated are in orange. |
Solanum diphyllum, commonly known as the twoleaf nightshade, [1] is a species of nightshade native to the Americas. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its clusters of dark green round fruits that turn a bright yellow when ripe.
Twoleaf nightshade is classified under the subgenus Minon. It belongs to the tribe Solaneae, subfamily Solanoideae, under the very large and diverse nightshade family (Solanaceae). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 book Species Plantarum . [2]
The forest nightshade ( Solanum nudum ), another species altogether, was originally illegitimately named Solanum diphyllum by the Spanish botanists Martín Sessé y Lacasta and José Mariano Mociño in 1894, despite the name already being used. [3]
Twoleaf nightshade may sometimes be confused with the Jerusalem cherry ( Solanum pseudocapsicum ), another nightshade grown for its brightly colored berries, and referred to by various synonyms, some of which were once classified as its cultivars. Within the genus, it most closely resembles a rare species in western Mexico, Solanum malacothrix . [4]
Twoleaf nightshade is also known as twinleaf nightshade, twin-leaved nightshade, two-leaf nightshade, and other variations of the name. The specific epithet 'diphyllum' means "two leaf", referring to the arrangement of its leaves. It is sometimes called by other names such as tomatillo (not to be confused with the edible Physalis philadelphica ), amatillo, and 黄果龙葵 (Huang guo long kui). [4] [5] [6]
Twoleaf nightshade grows as a small shrub about 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft) tall. The stems are smooth or sometimes slightly downy with a dark brown bark. [4]
A distinctive feature of twoleaf nightshade is that its leaves grow in pairs from a single bud, hence the name 'twoleaf'. Each pair is composed of a major and a minor leaf. Major leaves average around 6 cm (2.4 in) long by 2 cm (0.79 in) wide and are elliptic to oblong in shape. Minor leaves are smaller and more rounded; they are 2 cm (0.79 in) long by 1 cm (0.39 in) wide on average. [6] The leaves are a glossy dark green on the upper surface with a lighter green on the ventral side. The petioles are about 2 mm (0.079 in) in length. [4]
The inflorescences are borne opposite the leaves. Each bears about 5 to 20 closely spaced flowers. The flower buds are white and globular when young but become more lavender in color and elongated as they mature. They bloom into tiny white flowers with a lavender tinge about 1 cm (0.39 in) across. [4]
The fruits are spherical berries with a slight division around the middle, especially when unripe. They are green and hard when young, around 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter. They mature into bright yellow to orange fleshy and juicy berries about 1.2 cm (0.47 in) in diameter. They are mounted on the flower calyces on long and thin pedicels. Each berry contains numerous seeds. [4]
The seeds are flattened and kidney-shaped (resembling bell pepper seeds), each about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and 2.5 mm (0.098 in) wide. They have pale margins and are minutely pitted. [4]
Twoleaf nightshade is native to Northern and Central America in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. [2] It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in subtropical and tropical parts of the world like Southern France, Italy, and Taiwan. [4] [6] It has escaped cultivation in some areas and become naturalized in Florida and Texas, United States; [5] Java, Indonesia; the Philippines; and the West Indies. [7] [8]
Twoleaf nightshade is a ruderal species, colonizing newly disturbed lands. [9] It also grows in mangrove forests. [10]
Twoleaf nightshade is grown for its attractive clusters of green and yellow berries. The plants are spread very easily. Fruits are eaten by birds and bats, both of which help disperse the seeds. The seeds are especially hardy, able to survive being buried in an inch of soil for up to two years. Seventy five to eighty five percent of the seeds will sprout. [5]
The plant is poisonous to humans. [5]
Methods of controlling it in areas where it is unwanted mostly involve being familiar with its growing habits and appearance and uprooting the plants before they bear fruits. [5]
Twoleaf nightshade belongs to the Geminata clade, section Holophylla , along with Solanum pseudocapsicum and Solanum pseudoquina . [11]
Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant. It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae, comprising around 1,500 species. It also contains the so-called horse nettles, as well as numerous plants cultivated for their ornamental flowers and fruit.
Solanum carolinense, the Carolina horsenettle, is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to the southeastern United States, though its range has expanded throughout much of temperate North America. The plant is an invasive in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with prickles.
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, felonwort, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
Solanum mauritianum is a small tree or shrub native to South America, including Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its common names include earleaf nightshade, woolly nightshade, flannel weed, bugweed, tobacco weed, tobacco bush, wild tobacco and kerosene plant.
Solanum aviculare, commonly called poroporo or pōporo, bumurra (Dharug), kangaroo apple, pam plum (Australia), or New Zealand nightshade, is a soft-wooded shrub native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.
Solanum pseudocapsicum is a nightshade species with mildly poisonous fruit. It is commonly known as the Jerusalem cherry, Madeira winter cherry, or, ambiguously, "winter cherry". These perennials can be grown decoratively as house plants, but in some areas of South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand it is regarded as a weed.
Solanum aculeastrum is commonly known as soda apple, sodaapple nightshade, goat apple, poison apple, or more ambiguously as "bitter-apple". It is a poisonous nightshade species from Africa and only distantly related to true apples. The term "soda apple" probably derives from "Sodom apple", modified due to the fruit's detergent properties.
Solanum americanum, commonly known as American black nightshade, small-flowered nightshade or glossy nightshade, is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Melanesia, New Guinea, and Australia.
Solanum nigrum, the European black nightshade or simply black nightshade or blackberry nightshade, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. Some other species may also be referred to as "black nightshade".
Solanum mammosum, commonly known as nipplefruit, fox head, cow's udder, or apple of Sodom, is an inedible Pan-American tropical fruit. The plant is grown for ornamental purposes, in part because of the distal end of the fruit's resemblance to a human breast, while the proximal end looks like a cow's udder. It is an annual in the family Solanaceae, and part of the genus Solanum, making the plant a relative of the eggplant, tomato, and potato. This poisonous fruit is native to South America, but has been naturalized in Southern Mexico, Greater Antilles, Central America, and the Caribbean. The plant adapts well to most soils, but thrives in moist, loamy soil.
Solanum torvum, also known as pendejera, turkey berry, devil's fig, pea eggplant, platebrush or susumber, is a bushy, erect and spiny perennial plant used horticulturally as a rootstock for eggplant. Grafted plants are very vigorous and tolerate diseases affecting the root system, thus allowing the crop to continue for a second year.
Solanum elaeagnifolium, the silverleaf nightshade or silver-leaved nightshade, is a species of plant in the nightshade family native to North and South America. It is common in parts of southwestern USA, and sometimes weed of western North America. Other common names include prairie berry, silverleaf nettle, white horsenettle or silver nightshade. In South Africa it is known as silver-leaf bitter-apple or satansbos. More ambiguous names include "bull-nettle", "horsenettle" and the Spanish "trompillo".
Solanum lanceolatum, with the common names orangeberry nightshade and lanceleaf nightshade, is a species of nightshade. It is native to regions of South America, including the Cerrado ecoregion of the Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, primarily in Brazil.
Solanum physalifolium, known as hoe nightshade, Argentine nightshade, green nightshade and hairy nightshade, is a species in the family Solanaceae. Native to Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, it is widely naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, western Canada and the north western United States. Solanum physalifolium has been widely but incorrectly known as Solanum sarrachoides, a different species. It has been listed as a noxious weed in the US states of Kansas and Michigan under this misapplied name.
Solanum rostratum is a species of nightshade that is native to the United States and northern and central Mexico. Common names include buffalobur nightshade, buffalo-bur, spiny nightshade, Colorado bur, Kansas thistle, bad woman, Mexican thistle, and Texas thistle.
Ceanothus pauciflorus, known by the common name Mojave ceanothus, is a species of flowering shrub in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico, where it grows primarily in shrubland communities at moderate to high elevations. It is characterized by oppositely arranged leaves, corky stipules and white flowers. It was formerly known as Ceanothus greggii.
Solanum glaucophyllum is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae. It is known as waxyleaf nightshade. It is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Solanum tampicense, also known as wetland nightshade, aquatic soda apple, and scrambling nightshade, is a perennial in the Solanaceae or Nightshade Family. It can exist as a vine, tree, or shrub and is native to the West Indies and Central America. It is classified as a noxious weed by the United States Department of Agriculture and by several states and is known as an invasive species in the state of Florida.
Solanum opacum is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is referred to by the common names green berry nightshade, or morelle verte and is a sprawling annual native to eastern Australia. It is part of the black nightshade group of Solanum species.
Solanum esuriale is a species of perennial herbaceous plant native to Australia.
Media related to Solanum diphyllum at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Solanum diphyllum at Wikispecies