Solanum elaeagnifolium
Encyclopedia
This article is about the Solanum elaeagnifolium described by A. J. Cavanilles
Antonio José Cavanilles
Antonio José Cavanilles was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania, his name is abbreviated as Cav...

. The plant described under the same name by W. Herbert and C. L. Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants...

 based on E.G. von Steudel
Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel
Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was a German physician and an authority on grasses.Steudel lived in Esslingen where with Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter he organized Unio Itineraria.- References :...

 is
S. aethiopicum
Solanum aethiopicum
Ethiopian Eggplant , nakati or Solanum aethiopicum is a fruiting plant of the genus Solanum mainly found in Asia and Tropical Africa. It is also known as Mock Tomato, Garden Eggs and Ethiopian Nightshade...

.

Silver-leaved Nightshade or Silverleaf nightshade, Solanum elaeagnifolium, is a common weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

 of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and also found in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Other common names include Prairie Berry, Silverleaf Nettle, White Horsenettle or Silver Nightshade. In 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...

 it is known as Silver-leaf bitter-apple or satansbos ("Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

's Bush" in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

). More ambiguous names include "bull-nettle", "horsenettle" and the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 "trompillo".

Description and ecology

It is a 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...

 10 cm to 1 m in height. The stems are covered with nettle-like prickles, ranging from very few on some plants to very dense on others. Leaves and stems are covered with downy hairs (trichome
Trichome
Trichomes are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants and certain protists. These are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae.- Algal trichomes :...

s) that lie against and hide the surface, giving a silvery or grayish appearance.

The leaves are up to 15 cm long and 0.5 to 2.5 cm wide, with shallowly waved edges, which distinguish it from the closely related Carolina Horsenettle
Carolina horsenettle
Carolina Horsenettle is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to southeastern United States that has spread widely throughout North America...

 (S. carolinense), which has wider, more deeply indented leaves. The flowers, appearing from April to August, have five petals united to form a star, ranging from blue to pale lavender or occasionally white; five yellow stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s and a pistil form a projecting center. The plant produces glossy yellow, orange, or red berries
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....

 that last all winter and may turn brown as they dry.

Its range is from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 south to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and west through the Mexican-border states of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, as well as Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. It may have originated in North America and was accidentally introduced to South America or the reverse. It can grow in poor soil with very little water. It spreads by rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s as well as seeds, and is common in disturbed habitats. It is considered a noxious weed in 21 U.S. states and in countries such as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, 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...

, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. It is toxic to livestock and very hard to control, as root stocks less than 1 cm long can regenerate into plants. However, some gardeners encourage it as a xeriscape ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

.

The Pima
Pima
The Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham and the Hia C-ed O'odham...

 Indians used the berries as a vegetable rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

, and the Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...

 used the seeds together with brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

 tissue to tan leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

.

Synonyms

This plant has been described under a range of names, all now invalid. These contain many homonym
Homonym
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that often but not necessarily share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings...

s among them:
  • Solanum dealbatum Lindl.
  • Solanum flavidum Torr.
  • Solanum incanum Pav. ex Dunal (non L.: preoccupied
    Solanum incanum
    Solanum incanum is a species of nightshade that is native to northwestern Africa and the Middle East. Common names include Thorn Apple and Bitter Apple.-External links:...

    )
S. incanum of Ruiz & Pavón Jiménez
José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
José Antonio Pavón Jiménez or José Antonio Pavón was a Spanish botanist known for researching the flora of Peru and Chile during an expedition under Carlos III from 1777 to 1788...

 is S. albidum
Solanum albidum
Solanum albidum is a species of nightshade that is native to western South America, from southern Ecuador to northern Argentina, and grows well at mid elevations in the Andes. Common names include Lumo Huaritar and Lavaplato Plateado . It can be either a shrub or small tree. The plant has dull...

as described by Dunal.
S. incanum of Kitaibel based on Kanitz is S. villosum as described by Philip Miller
Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...

S. incanum of Scheff. is S. schefferi.
S. incanum var. lichtensteinii and var. subexarmatum are S. lichtensteinii.
  • Solanum leprosum Ortega
  • Solanum obtusifolium Dunal (non Willd.: preoccupied
    Solanum aethiopicum
    Ethiopian Eggplant , nakati or Solanum aethiopicum is a fruiting plant of the genus Solanum mainly found in Asia and Tropical Africa. It is also known as Mock Tomato, Garden Eggs and Ethiopian Nightshade...

    )
S. obtusifolium of Hartweg
Karl Theodor Hartweg
Karl Theodor Hartweg was a German botanist. He collected numerous new species of plants in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and California in the United States, collecting for the London Horticultural Society...

 based on Otto Sendtner
Otto Sendtner
Otto Sendtner was a German botanist and phytogeographer born in Munich.He received his education at the University of Munich, where he was a student of Karl Friedrich Schimper...

 in von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...

 is S. ferrugineum.
S. obtusifolium of Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants...

 is S. aethiopicum
Solanum aethiopicum
Ethiopian Eggplant , nakati or Solanum aethiopicum is a fruiting plant of the genus Solanum mainly found in Asia and Tropical Africa. It is also known as Mock Tomato, Garden Eggs and Ethiopian Nightshade...

.
  • Solanum pyriforme var. uniflorum Dunal
  • Solanum roemerianum Scheele
  • Solanum saponaceum Hook. (non Dunal: preoccupied)
S. saponaceum of Welwitsch
Friedrich Welwitsch
Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch was an Austrian explorer and botanist who in Angola discovered the plant Welwitschia mirabilis...

 is S. aculeastrum
Solanum aculeastrum
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...

.
S. saponaceum var. uruguense is S. bonariense.
  • Solanum texense Engelm. & A.Gray
  • Solanum uniflorum Meyen ex Nees (non Dunal: preoccupied)
S. uniflorum of de Conceição Vellozo
José Mariano de Conceição Vellozo
José Mariano de Conceição Vellozo was a Brazilian botanist who catalogued specimens, for example: Cedrela fissilis Vell. in Florae Fluminensis...

 is S. pseudocapsicum.
S. uniflorum of Sessé & Mociño
José Mariano Mociño
José Mariano Mociño Suárez Lozano , or simply José Mariano Mociño, was a naturalist from New Spain.After having studied philosophy and medicine, he conducted early research on the ecology , geology, and anthropology of his country and other parts of North America.- Biography :He was born in...

 and S. uniflorum of Dunal in Poiret
Jean Louis Marie Poiret
Jean Louis Marie Poiret was a French clergyman, botanist and explorer.From 1785 to 1786 he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora...

 have been identified as Lycianthes mociniana.
S. uniflorum of Lagasca y Segura and Solanum uniflorum var. berterianum are undetermined species of Lycianthes
Lycianthes
Lycianthes is a genus of plants from the nightshade family , found in both the Old World and the New World, but predominantly in the latter. It contains roughly 200 species, mostly from tropical America, with 35-40 species in Asia and the Pacific.-Characteristics:Lycianthes is apparently closely...

.


Several varieties and form
Form (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, a form is one of the "secondary" taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, which in turn is below that of species; it is an infraspecific taxon...

s of S. elaeagnifolium have been named. They are not usually considered taxonomically distinct:
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium f. albiflorum Cockerell
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium var. angustifolium Kuntze
Not to be confused with S. angustifolium of Philip Miller
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium var. argyrocroton Griseb.
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium f. benkei Standl.
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium var. grandiflorum Griseb.
Not to be confused with S. grandiflorum of Ruiz and Pavón Jiménez
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium var. leprosum (Ortega) Dunal
  • Solanum elaeagnifolium var. obtusifolium (Dunal) Dunal


S. elaeagnifolium var. ovalifolium does not refer to the S. ovalifolium as described by Dunal and does not belong to the present species; it is actually S. aridum. Meanwhile, S. crispum var. elaeagnifolium is just the normal S. crispum
Solanum crispum
Solanum crispum is a species of nightshade that is native to Chile and Peru. Common names include Chilean Potato Vine, Chilean Nightshade Chilean Potato Tree, and Potato Vine. It belongs to the same genus as the potato . The flowers resemble potato flowers...

of Ruiz and Pavón Jiménez.
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