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 also contains the nightshades and 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 that has spread widely throughout much of temperate North America. It has also been found in parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with spines.
Solanum dulcamara, also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade, is a species of vine in the potato genus Solanum, family Solanaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, including North America, where it is an invasive problem weed.
Solanum mauritianum is a small tree or shrub native to South America, including Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has become a widespread invasive weed in Azores Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawai‘i, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Réunion Island, Mauritius, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and several southern African countries. 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, 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 quitoense, known as naranjilla in Ecuador and Panama and as lulo in Colombia, is a tropical perennial plant from northwestern South America. The specific name for this species of nightshade means "from Quito."
Solanum wallacei, also known as Catalina nightshade, Wallace's nightshade, Northern island nightshade, or wild tomato, is a perennial plant that produces purple flowers, but otherwise resembles a tomato plant. The foliage and purple-black berries are poisonous.
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 in the genus Solanum, 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. A tendency exists in literature to incorrectly refer to many of the other "black nightshade" species as "Solanum nigrum".
Solanum ptychanthum, the West Indian nightshade or eastern black nightshade, is an annual or occasionally perennial plant in the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family. It is typically 15–60 cm tall and many branched.
Solanum xanti, known commonly as chaparral nightshade, purple nightshade, and San Diego nightshade, is a member of the genus Solanum. It is native to the Western United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon, and to northwest Mexico in Baja California.
Solanum crispum is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Chile and Peru. Common names include Chilean potato vine, Chilean nightshade, Chilean potato tree and potato vine. Growing to 6 m (20 ft) tall, it is a semi-evergreen, woody-stemmed climbing plant. The small blue fragrant flowers, 2.5 cm in diameter, with prominent yellow ovaries, appear in clusters in summer. They resemble those of the closely related potato. Very small poisonous berries are produced in autumn. The berries start out green, then yellow-orange, and finally purple. The leaves are oval.
Solanum prinophyllum, known as the forest nightshade, is a small plant native to the east coast of Australia. It is a short lived herb, annual or perennial.
Solanum marginatum is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae known by the common names purple African nightshade and white-margined nightshade. It is native to Ethiopia and Eritrea, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is a hairy shrub growing up to two meters tall. The large, distinctive, gray-green leaves are wavy along the edges, woolly on the undersides, and measure up to 18 centimeters long. The veins are white and lined with large, widely spaced prickles. The inflorescence contains several white flowers, hanging or nodding bisexual flowers and erect staminate flowers with large yellow anthers. The fruit is a yellow berry up to 5 centimeters wide.
Solanum parishii is a species of nightshade known by the common name Parish's nightshade. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in many types of habitat, including maritime and inland chaparral, woodlands, and forests. It is a perennial herb or subshrub producing a branching, ribbed or ridged stem up to about a meter in maximum height. The lance-shaped to nearly oval leaves are up to 7 centimeters long and smooth-edged or somewhat wavy. The inflorescence is an umbel-shaped array of several flowers, each borne on a short pedicel. The flower corolla is around 2 centimeters wide when fully open and is usually purple, but sometimes white. At the center are yellow anthers. The fruit is a berry roughly a centimeter wide.
Solanum triflorum is a species of nightshade known by the common names cutleaf nightshade and small nightshade. It is native to Argentina, but it is known on other continents, including Europe and Australia, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is present throughout much of North America, where it is possibly non-native as well. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is an annual herb producing spreading, decumbent stems up one meter long. It is hairy, the hairs sometimes associated with glands. The leaves are a few centimeters long and are deeply cut into toothlike lobes. The inflorescence bears two or three flowers each just under a centimeter wide when fully open. The flower is usually white, but is occasionally purple-tinged. The fruit is a berry roughly a centimeter wide.
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.
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.
African nightshades are several species of plants in the section Solanum of the genus Solanum, that are commonly consumed as leafy vegetables and herbs. African nightshades are grown in both high and lowland areas in West and East Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Cameroon. There is a large variation in diversity of the African nightshades, which have many nutritional and medicinal benefits, even though the family of nightshade is commonly known as comprising dangerous weeds or poisonous plants. Species known as African nightshade include Solanum scabrum, Solanum villosum, Solanum nigrum, and Solanum americanum. Other common names for African nightshade are Black nightshade and Narrow-leaved nightshade. Local names of African nightshade include mnavu (Swahili), managu (Kisii), namasaka (Luhya), osuga (Luo), isoiyot (Kipsigis), kitulu (Kamba), ormomoi (Maa), ndunda (Taita), and nsugga (Luganda).
Solanum africanum is a species of plant in the nightshade family. It is found in South Africa. This plant typically occurs near the coast up to an altitude of 200m.
