Solanum villosum, the hairy nightshade,[1] red nightshade[2] or woolly nightshade, is a sprawling annual weed in Europe, western Asia, northern Africa and is also naturalized in Australia and North America (PoWo Map).
| Solanum villosum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mature plant of the yellow-fruited nominate subspecies | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Solanum |
| Species: | S. villosum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Solanum villosum | |
Description
editAn annual herb, to 70 cm, slightly to densely hairy. The leaf blade is ovate, up to 8 cm long, 3–6 cm wide, entire or shallowly lobed, and petioles to 4.5 cm long. Clusters of 3–8–flowers in the inflorescence. The corolla is white or may be purple-tinged. Followed by dull light red or orange-yellow (depending on subspecies) globular berries, 5–9 mm diam. The seeds are 1.7–2.3 mm long and pale yellow. Compared to S. nigrum, aside from fruit colour the peduncles are moderate (S. nigrum peduncles can become quite long relative to the pedicels).[3][4]
Note that in Old World flora (Flora of Turkey, Flora Europaea), Solanum alatum Moench should be taken as this species (subsp. miniatum), but in North America the same should be taken as stands, S. alatum Moench (PoWo) with synonym Solanum emulans Raf.
Subspecies
edit- S. villosum Mill. ssp villosum (syn. S. luteum Mill ssp luteum) -- hairs projecting, denser, with glandular hairs.
- S. villosum ssp miniatum (Bernh. ex Willd.) Edmonds (syn S. miniatum Bernh. ex Whilld., S. luteum ssp alatum (Moench) Dostâl) -- hairs appressed, sparser, non-glandular (rather resembling S. nigrum ssp. nigrum with orange fruit).
References
edit- ^ NRCS. "Solanum villosum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ Factsheet Solanum villosum, Flora of South Australia
- ^ Davis. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol. 7.
- ^ Peter Sell & Gina Murrell. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 3.
- ^ Tutin. Flora Europaea, vol. 3.