SPECIES DESCRIPTION
SOLANUM NIGRUM subsp. NIGRUM
Including:- Subsp schultesii
Family and Genus:- See- SOLANACEAE
Common Names:- Black nightshade
Homotypic Synonyms:- Solanum dillenii, Solanum judaicum, Solanum
suffruticosum, Solanum triangulare
Meaning:- Solanum (L) Comforter, an ancient Latin used by the Roman naturalist
and philosopher Pliny.
Nigrum (L) Black.
General description:- A variable, low to medium, hairless or somewhat hairy
annual.
Stems:-
1) 15-70 cm tall, ± terete. spreading to erect, often blackish.
Leaves:-
1) Alternate, simple, 2·5-7 x 2-4·5(-6) cm, ovate-rhombic to lanceolate, margins
entire to sinuate-dentate.
Flowers:-
1) From 10-14 mm Æ, joined together by 5-10 into a contracted raceme resembling
a simple umbel.
2) Corolla, with 5 petals partly fused into a very short tube;
a) tube, with spread out to inverted, folded lobes, acute at their tip.
3) Calyx, with 5 partly fused, oval to rounded sepals, increasing a little at fruiting
time.
4) Stamens, 5, protruding, with a short filament, and yellow anthers, brought close
together to form a kind of tube containing the style.
Fruit:-
1) Berry, spherical from 6-10 mm Æ, initially green, then black and dull at maturity.
Key features:-
1) Peduncle, usually erecto-patent in fruit.
2) Berry, black or green.
Habitat:- Seasonally damp habitats in olive groves, field margins, roadsides,
gardens and ruderal habitats. 0-800 m.
Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean region. Widespread and
common on Crete.
Flowering time:- Much of the year, but mainly May-Sept.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
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SOLANUM NIGRUM subsp. SCHULTESII Back to Top
Homotypic Synonyms:- Solanum decipiens
Meaning:- Schultesii (L) For Josef August Schultes (1773-1831) Austrian
botanical writer.
Resembling Subsp nigrum but differering in the following characters:-
1) Plant villous, with patent, glandular and eglandular hairs.
Habitat:- Seasonally damp habitats in olive groves, field margins, roadsides,
gardens and ruderal habitats. 0-800 m.
Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean region. Limited distribution
on Crete.
Flowering time:- Much of the year, but mainly May-Sept.
Photos by:- Courtesy Wikimedia - Benjamin Zwittnig