Solanum dimidiatum

Family:SOLANACEAE
Species:Solanum dimidiatum Raf.
Common Name:Western Horse Nettle; Robust Horse Nettle; Torrey's Nightshade
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:SODI
Plant Notes:

Western Horse Nettle is an introduced herbaceous perennial in the Nightshade Family (SOLANACEAE). It is native to the central United States (Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas), but has been introduced in many other locations. In Alabama, it is found in the southeastern portion of the state. Western Horse Nettle grows in fields, in pastures, on roadsides, and along railroads. It is a perennial with elongate rhizomes. It often forms colonies. Stems are 1-2 feet in height, branched above the middle, green in color, pubescent with stellate hairs, and armed with prickles. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, ovate to lanceolate in outline, irregularly lobed, and pubescent with stellate hairs. The leaves may be armed with prickles along the midrib of the lower surface of the leaf. Flowers are produced in axillary and terminal racemes. The corolla is 5 parted, the lobes spreading. The corolla is blue in color. The anthers are erect and connivant (converging and touching but not fused). The pollen is released through pores at the tips of the anthers. The fruit is a many-seeded berry. The fruit turns yellow when it is mature. Western Horse Nettle is listed as an invasive species in California and Australia. Western Horse Nettle is somewhat similar to our native Carolina Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense Linnaeus). It differs by having stellate trichomes on the lower leaf surface with 6-8 equal rays, generally being a larger plant, and by having blue flowers. Carolina Horse Nettle has stellate trichomes of the lower leaf surface with 2-5 rays, the central one elongate, and usually white or pale blue flowers.--A. Diamond

Taxonomic Notes:

Some authors have separated Solanum perplexum Small from S. dimidiatum Raf. based on a suite of characters including size of stellate hairs, corolla, and calyx.  When separated, S. perplexum would represent the Alabama material along with Georgia and Florida with S. dimidiatum occurring to our west in Texas and other states.  In examining material from Texas compared with the Alabama specimens, these characters are seemingly variable thus  not reliable enough to discern the two taxa.--B.R. Keener

Status:Not Native
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilySOLANACEAE - Nightshade/Potato family
Genus Solanum
Species Solanum dimidiatum Raf. - Western Horse Nettle; Robust Horse Nettle; Torrey's Nightshade

Citation

Citation Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque, Autik. Bot. 107. 1840.
Basionym: **
Type: **

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Solanum torreyi Solanum torreyi A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 44. 1862. TEXAS: Without data, Lindheimer 281 (lectotype: A; isolectotypes: BM, K, LL, MO, P, SMU). Lectotypified by D'Arcy, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 61: 844. 1974.
Solanum perplexum Solanum perplexum Small, Man. S.E. Fl. 1115, 1508. 1933. GEORGIA: Thomas Co.: Ochlockonee River near Thomasville, 28 May-6 Jun 1895, Small s.n. (holotype: NY).

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Barbour, Bullock, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Pickens, Pike

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: -

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AUA_ACC_49134 Barbour 17 Jul 1988 Diamond, Alvin R.
5225
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
TROY000009303 Barbour 02 Jun 2002 Diamond, Alvin R.
13245
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000032663 Bullock 21 Apr 2011 Diamond, Alvin R.
21937
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000033825 Houston 16 Sep 2011 Senn, Whitney
43
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
AUA_ACC_49127 Barbour 4 Aug 1988 Diamond, Alvin R.
5345
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
AUA_ACC_19408 Houston 25 May 1971 Moore, Harold D.
1163
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
AUA_ACC_19131 Houston 30 Jul 1970 Moore, Harold D.
483
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
AUA_ACC_7469 Henry 13 Aug 1960 Jones, Jr., Samuel B.
202
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
TROY000009305 Houston 11 Jul 1995 Collins, Homer
s.n.
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000009307 Pike 06 May 1995 MacDonald, John R.
8599
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
AUA_ACC_19510 Pike 24 Jul 1969 Moore, Harold D.
371-69
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
AUA_ACC_49130 Pike 18 Aug 1988 Diamond, Alvin R.
5378
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
TROY000009304 Geneva 16 May 2002 Diamond, Alvin R.
13182
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
UWAL0031220 Pickens 04 Jun 2015 Keener, Brian R.
8979
UWAL
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
AUA_ACC_20348 Barbour 29 Jul 1970 Moore, Harold D.
433
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
UNA00059006 Geneva 16 May 2002 Diamond, Alvin R.
13182
UNA
Solanum dimidiatum Raf.
JSU134434 Pike 6 May 1995 MacDonald, John R.
8599
JSU
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
UWAL0015681 Bullock 10 May 2012 Dykes, Bailee
648
UWAL
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000030836 Henry 13 Aug 1960 Jones, Samuel B., Jr.
203
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000009306 Pike 08 Jul 2000 Diamond, Alvin R.
11780
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
UWAL0054111 Lee 27 Jul 2019 Spaulding, Daniel D.
15988
UWAL
Solanum dimidiatum Raf.
AUA_ACC_46958 Lee 25 May 1987 Freeman, John D.
AUA
Solanum Dimidiatum Raf.
TROY000024127 Barbour 04 May 2008 Diamond, Alvin R.
19177
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
UWAL0005652 Bullock 21 Apr 2011 Diamond, Alvin R.
21937
UWAL
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
TROY000036510 Bullock 10 May 2012 Dykes, Bailee
648
TROY
Solanum dimidiatum Rafinesque
ALNHS00005002 Barbour 31 MAY 2017 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#3125
ALNHS
Solanum dimidiatum Raf.
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