Solanum tampicense

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Solanum tampicense
Solanum tampicense.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species:
S. tampicense
Binomial name
Solanum tampicense

Solanum tampicense, also known as wetland nightshade, [1] aquatic soda apple, [1] and scrambling nightshade, [2] 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. [2]

Contents

This species is known by various other common names such as Tampico soda apple, and wetlands soda apple.

Description

Solanum tampicense plant Solanum tampicense 1.jpg
Solanum tampicense plant

The stems of Solanum tampicense can reach up to 5 m in length and 1.5 cm in diameter. The leaves are of the simple form and are attached in an alternate arrangement on the stem. Individual blades may be up to 25 cm in length and 7 cm in width. The flowers are small and are clustered in groups of 3 to 11. Petals are white and the stamens grow close together and possess yellow anthers. Fruits resemble a tomato in appearance as they change from an initial green color to bright red as they mature. Each fruit can be up to 1 cm wide and contain between 10 and 60 seeds. [1]

Solanum tampicense may be confused with Solanum viarum which is known as tropical soda apple and is also an invasive species in the state of Florida. Solanum tampicense is distinguished from Solanum viarum by its longer leaves and curved prickles located on the leaves and stems. [3]

Life history

Solanum tampicense can tolerate light conditions varying from full sun to full shade and temporary flooding but is sensitive to frost and severe flooding. Adventitious roots may form at leaf axils and fruit develops in May or early Fall. The seeds may be dispersed by birds or flowing water and germination rates can exceed 90% under ideal conditions. [1]

Habitat

USDA distribution map Solanum tampicense USDA distribution map.png
USDA distribution map

Solanum tampicense is known to grow in undisturbed wetlands such as cypress swamps and near river margins. Wetland nightshade may grow in large stands where it acts as an epiphyte; growing on native species and in the understory of cypress heads. In the state of Florida, Solanum tampicense is known to grow in strand swamps, floodplain swamps, and ruderal communities.

As a weed and invasive species

Several Solanum tampicense plants Solanum tampicense 2.jpg
Several Solanum tampicense plants

Solanum tampicense was first reported to have invaded the United States in a wetland in the Peace River drainage in the state of Florida in the early 1980s. [4] Since then it has been contained to the state of Florida, but has spread throughout the state to areas such as the Peace River tributaries and the Big Cypress Swamp drainage. The largest concentration of wetland nightshade in Florida is located in the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Refuge and is expanding toward Lake Okeechobee. [5] A lack of natural enemies in Florida may have allowed this species to gain a competitive advantage over native plants. [4]

A study of biological control agents of invasive species found potential in the bacteria R. solanacearum being used as a bio-herbicide to control invasive Solanum species. [4]

Solanum tampicense is classified as a noxious weed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the states of Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Vermont. It is categorized as an invasive plant by the state of South Carolina and the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Solanum</i> Genus of flowering plants

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.

<i>Solanum carolinense</i> Species of plant

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, and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with prickles.

<i>Solanum dulcamara</i> Species of plant

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, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.

<i>Solanum viarum</i> Species of shrub

Solanum viarum, the tropical soda apple, is a perennial shrub native to Brazil and Argentina with a prickly stem and prickly leaves. The fruit is golf-ball-sized with the coloration of a watermelon. It is considered an invasive species in the lower eastern coastal states of the United States and recently on the Mid North Coast of Australia.

<i>Solanum mauritianum</i> Species of tree

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.

<i>Solanum aculeastrum</i> Species of plant

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 not related to true apples. The term "soda apple" probably derives from "Sodom apple", modified due to the fruit's detergent properties.

<i>Annona glabra</i> Tropical fruit tree

Annona glabra is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the soursop and cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple, swamp apple, corkwood, bobwood, and monkey apple. The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It is common in the Everglades. The A. glabra tree is considered an invasive species in Sri Lanka and Australia. It grows in swamps, is tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil.

<i>Solanum elaeagnifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum elaeagnifolium, the silverleaf nightshade or silver-leaved nightshade, is a common native plant to parts of the southwestern USA, and sometimes weed of western North America and also found in South 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". The plant is also endemic to the Middle East.

<i>Solanum sisymbriifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum sisymbriifolium is commonly known as vila-vila, sticky nightshade, red buffalo-bur, the fire-and-ice plant, litchi tomato, or Morelle de Balbis.

<i>Verbena bonariensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.

<i>Ageratina adenophora</i> Weedy species of flowering plant

Ageratina adenophora, commonly known as Crofton weed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico and Central America. Originally grown as an ornamental plant, it has become invasive into farmland and bushland worldwide. It is toxic to horses, who develop a respiratory disease known as Numinbah Horse Sickness after eating it.

<i>Solanum physalifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Solanum erianthum</i> Species of plant

Solanum erianthum is a species of nightshade that is native to southern North America and northern South America. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and has a nearly pantropical distribution. Common names include mullein nightshade, velvet nightshade, and salvadora. The potatoes are not the fruits of the trees, they are the leaves.

Solanum dimidiatum is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae known by the common names western horsenettle, Torrey's nightshade, and robust horsenettle. It is native to the central United States, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. In California it is known as an introduced species and a noxious weed. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing an erect stem up to 80 centimeters tall. It is covered in yellow prickles and branched hairs. The leaves may be up to 15 centimeters long, their edges wavy to lobed and sometimes toothed. The inflorescence is a branching array of several flowers. Each flower has a bell-shaped corolla measuring 3 to 5 centimeters wide. It is lavender to purple, or white. The five large, yellow anthers are about a centimeter long. The fruit is a spherical yellow berry up to 3 centimeters wide.

<i>Solanum diphyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum diphyllum, commonly known as the twoleaf nightshade, 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.

<i>Panicum repens</i> Species of plant

Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedograss, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."

Cypress dome Swamp dominated by pond or bald cypress

A cypress dome is a type of freshwater forested wetland, or a swamp, found in the southeastern part of the United States. They are dominated by the Taxodium spp., either the bald cypress, or pond cypress. The name comes from the dome-like shape of treetops, formed by smaller trees growing on the edge where the water is shallow while taller trees grow at the center in deeper water. They usually appear as circular, but if the center is too deep, they form a “doughnut” shape when viewed from above. Cypress domes are characteristically small compared to other swamps, however they can occur at a range of sizes, dependent on the depth.

<i>Gratiana boliviana</i> Species of beetle

Gratiana boliviana is a species of beetle in the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. Its common name is tropical soda apple leaf beetle. It is native to South America, where its distribution includes Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It specializes on tropical soda apple, an invasive plant species. It has been released as an agent of biological pest control against the weedy plant in Florida and other parts of the United States.

<i>Centaurea macrocephala</i> Species of flowering plant

Centaurea macrocephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and a member of the thistle tribe, Cynareae. It has many common names, including bighead knapweed, big yellow centaurea, lemon fluff, yellow bachelor's button, yellow hardhat, and Armenian basketflower.

<i>Solanum esuriale</i> Native Australian plant

Solanum esuriale is a species of perennial herbaceous plant native to Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Langeland, K.A., and H.M. Cherry. Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida's Natural Areas . 2nd ed. University of Florida-IFAS Pub , 2008. 123. Print.
  2. 1 2 3 Kartesz, John. United States. PLANTS Profile for Solanum tampicense (Scrambling nightshade). , Web. 10 May 2011. <http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SOTA3>.
  3. Coile, Nancy. "Tropical Soda Apple, Solanum viarum Dunal: The Plant from Hell." Botany Circular 27 (1993): 1-4. Web. 17 May 2011. < "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2011-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)>.
  4. 1 2 3 Cuda, J.P., D. Gandolfo, J.C. Medal, R. Charudattan, and J.J. Mullahey. "TROPICAL SODA APPLE, WETLAND NIGHTSHADE, AND TURKEY BERRY." Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States (2002): 293-309. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/technology/pdfs/BiocontrolsOfInvasivePlants02_04.pdf>.
  5. M.M. Richerson and C.C. Jacono. 2011. Solanum tampicense. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=262 RevisionDate: 4/22/2003