Solanum americanum
Encyclopedia
American 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
and Meganesia . The plant is widely naturalised around the Tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Hawaii
, Indochina, Madagascar and Africa, however its may be an anthropogenic introduction in these locales.
It grows up to 1–1.5 m (39.4–59.1 in) tall and is an annual
or short-lived perennial
. The leaves
are alternate on the branch, and vary greatly in size, up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long and 7 centimetres (2.8 in) broad, with a 4 centimetres (1.6 in) petiole
and a coarsely wavy or toothed margin. The flower
s are about 1 cm diameter, white or occasionally light purple, with yellow stamen
s. The fruit
is a shiny black berry
5–10 mm (0.196850393700787–0.393700787401575 in) diameter, containing numerous small seed
s.
The green fruit in particular should be considered poisonous as they contain high levels of solanine
and solamargine
, toxic glycoalkaloid
s,, as well as the tropane alkaloid
s scopolamine
(hyoscine) and hyoscyamine
(an isomer
of atropine
).
It is used as a medicinal in Cameroon
, Kenya
, Hawaii, Panama
, Sierra Leone
, and Tanzania, and as a wild or cultivated pot herb in Cameroon
, Ghana
, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar
, Mauritius
, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands
, Nigeria
, Papua New Guinea
, Peru, Sierra Leone, the Seychelles
, South Africa
, Tanzania, and Uganda
.
. Here is a quick guide for differentiating between species.
American nightshade Solanum americanum
The undersides of its hairy leaves are not reddish-purple. The berries are speckled with white until it is fully ripe and turns black.
Black nightshade Solanum nigrum
Berries are purple or dark green and dull. They are almost completely exposed (very small calyx).
Eastern black nightshade Solanum ptycanthum
The undersides of the leaves are reddish purple and the berries are dark.
Hairy nightshade Solanum villosum
Berries are light green or yellow when ripe and the leaves are so hairy that they may feel sticky.
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and Meganesia . The plant is widely naturalised around the Tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Indochina, Madagascar and Africa, however its may be an anthropogenic introduction in these locales.
It grows up to 1–1.5 m (39.4–59.1 in) tall and is an annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
or short-lived perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternate on the branch, and vary greatly in size, up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long and 7 centimetres (2.8 in) broad, with a 4 centimetres (1.6 in) petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
and a coarsely wavy or toothed margin. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are about 1 cm diameter, white or occasionally light purple, with yellow stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a shiny black berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
5–10 mm (0.196850393700787–0.393700787401575 in) diameter, containing numerous small seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Toxicity
At least five species of the large Solanum nigrum complex are considered edible in Uganda, including S.americanum, S. scabrum, S. villosum, S. tarderemotum and S. florulentum. In Africa, New Guinea and Oceania the young green shoots of Solanum americanum are cooked and eaten as greens. However care should be taken since numerous toxins are reported with levels varying with local conditions and varieties.The green fruit in particular should be considered poisonous as they contain high levels of solanine
Solanine
Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family , such as the potato . It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. Solanine has fungicidal and pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's natural defenses...
and solamargine
Solamargine
Solamargine is a poisonous glycoalkaloid chemical compound that occurs in plants of the Solanaceae family, such as potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants....
, toxic glycoalkaloid
Glycoalkaloid
Glycoalkaloids are a family of poisons commonly found in the plant species Solanum dulcamara . There are several glycoalkaloids that are potentially toxic. A prototypical glycoalkaloid is called solanine , which is found in potato...
s,, as well as the tropane alkaloid
Tropane alkaloid
Tropane alkaloids are a class of alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure...
s scopolamine
Scopolamine
Scopolamine, also known as levo-duboisine, and hyoscine, is a tropane alkaloid drug with muscarinic antagonist effects. It is among the secondary metabolites of plants from Solanaceae family of plants, such as henbane, jimson weed and Angel's Trumpets , and corkwood...
(hyoscine) and hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine is a tropane alkaloid. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the Solanaceae family, including henbane , mandrake , jimsonweed , tomato and deadly nightshade...
(an isomer
Isomer
In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...
of atropine
Atropine
Atropine is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid extracted from deadly nightshade , Jimson weed , mandrake and other plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a secondary metabolite of these plants and serves as a drug with a wide variety of effects...
).
It is used as a medicinal in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Hawaii, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, and Tanzania, and as a wild or cultivated pot herb in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Peru, Sierra Leone, the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Tanzania, and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
Identification
American nightshade can be confused with a variety of other related nightshadesSolanum
Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are...
. Here is a quick guide for differentiating between species.
American nightshade Solanum americanum
The undersides of its hairy leaves are not reddish-purple. The berries are speckled with white until it is fully ripe and turns black.
Black nightshade Solanum nigrum
Solanum nigrum
Solanum nigrum is a species in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia and South Africa.-Description:Black...
Berries are purple or dark green and dull. They are almost completely exposed (very small calyx).
Eastern black nightshade Solanum ptycanthum
Solanum ptycanthum
Solanum ptychanthum, eastern black nightshade or West Indian nightshade, is an annual or occasionally a perennial in the Solanaceae or Nightshade Family. The is 15-60 cm tall, and is much branched....
The undersides of the leaves are reddish purple and the berries are dark.
Hairy nightshade Solanum villosum
Berries are light green or yellow when ripe and the leaves are so hairy that they may feel sticky.
See also
- SobemovirusSobemovirusThe Sobemovirus is a genus of a virus with no family. Virion capsids are non-enveloped, round and isometric, with a diameter of 25-33 nm. The genome is a single piece of linear, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA, 4100-5700 nucleotides in length.....
- Solanum nodiflorum mottle virus
- Solanum nodiflorum mottle virus satellite
External links
- Missouriplants: Solanum americanum (numerous photos, detailed description)
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Solanum americanum
- Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk: Solanum americanum (very detailed description)
- Identifying nightshades as weeds
- Edmonds, J. M. & J. A. Chweya, 1997: Black nightshades, Solanum nigrum L., and related species. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops 15. - IPGRI/IPK, Rome/Gatersleben 113 pp
- Solanum americanum Mill. on Solanaceae Source - Images, specimens and a full list of scientific synonyms. Full descriptions and identification keys coming soon!
- Plants for a future
- Molluscicidal Activity of the Puerto Rican Weed, Solanum nodiflorum