Solanum Linnaeus. Common name: Nightshade, Tomato, Potato, Horse-Nettle.

Contributed by Milo Pyne and Alan S. Weakley

Key to Solanum

A genus of 1500 (or more) species, trees, shrubs, lianas, and herbs, of tropical and temperate regions of the Old and New World.

ID notes: The color and size of the berry, and the presence (and number) or absence of sclerotic granules (=stone cells) is useful in identification. "These are hardened masses within the fruit pulp that are usually spherical, 0.5-5 mm in diameter, and visible with 10× magnification. In dissected fruits they are generally paler, rounded, and more homogeneous in appearance than the seeds" (Bohs 2023).

References: Barboza et al. In Kadereit & Bittrich (2016); Bohs (2023) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2023c); Bohs & Olmstead (1997); Harper & Diamond (2021); Hilgenhof et al. (2023); Knapp et al. (2019); Olmstead & Palmer (1997); Särkinen et al. (2018); Schilling (1981); Wahlert, Chiarini, & Bohs (2015). Show full citations.

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