OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Solanales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solanum viarum   FAMILY Solanaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solanum viarum   FAMILY Solanaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Solanum viarum

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)

Solanum viarum

 

COMMON NAME:
Tropical Soda-apple


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

    wwwgalvbayinvasives_tsa1

        

www.galvbayinvasives.org/Guide/Species/SolanumViarum

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

    wwwgalvbayinvasives_tsa2

        

www.galvbayinvasives.org/Guide/Species/SolanumViarum

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Larry Trekell, Bugwood.org    bug_5431749

May?        

Petals first extended, then recurved. Yellow to white fused stamens project, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Florida Division of Plant Industry Archive, Bugwood.org    bug_5294047

June?        

Ripe berry yellow, immature berry green with white mottles, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Charles T. Bryson, USDA Agricultural Research. Bugwood.org    bug_1115037

Month Unknown        

Leaves 6-8" long x 2-6" wide, hairy, with pointed lobes, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

G. Keith Douce, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org    bug_1791084

Month Unknown        

An upright, thorny, perennial subshrub or shrub, 1-2m in height, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Florida Division of Plant Industry Archive, Bugwood.org    bug_5290022

Month Unknown        FL

Leaf veins and stem covered with 0.5-1" long spines, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Julia Scher, Federal Noxious Weeds Disseminules, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org     bug_5376822

Month Unknown        

Each berry produces 200-400 reddish-brown seeds, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Solanum viarum, Tropical Soda-apple

Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org     bug_5498789

Month Unknown        

Lvs shallowly lobed (sinus typically <1/3 the distance from margin to midvein), per Weakley's Flora.

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solanum viarum   FAMILY Solanaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solanum viarum   FAMILY Solanaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Solanum viarum

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Solanum viarum

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1411

Subshrub; Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Pastures, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: South America

Common in Coastal Plain of GA & SC, uncommon in Piedmont of GA & SC (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems, and often leaves, prickly and/or spiny

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
Leaves have petioles.

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
White
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed calyx
5-parted rotate corolla
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Mottled green turning to yellow
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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