Scrambling or wetland nightshade, aquatic soda apple

Shrubs, scandent, branches 1–2+ m, moderately to densely armed, prickles yellow, recurved, 2–8 mm, glabrate to sparsely pubescent, hairs tan to reddish, stellate, 3–6-rayed, central ray equal to lateral rays. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1–4 cm; blade simple, ovate, 4–16 × 2–6 cm, margins shallowly to moderately lobed with 2–5 lobes per side, lobe margins entire, base cuneate and slightly decurrent. Inflorescences extra-axillary, unbranched, 3–10-flowered, 1–4 cm. Pedicels 0.5–2 cm in flower and fruit. Flowers radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, sometimes prickly, 2–5 mm, glabrous, lobes narrowly triangular; corolla white to cream, stellate, 1.5–2 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 4–6 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous. Berries red, globose, 0.5–0.8 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. Seeds yellow, flattened, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, minutely pitted and ridged.

Flowering Feb–Dec. Swamps, riverbanks, wet areas; 0–200 m; introduced; Fla., Tex.; Mexico; West Indies (Cuba, Lesser Antilles); Central America; South America (Colombia, Venezuela).

In the flora area, Solanum tampicense is found in central and southern Florida. A single population was found in 2016 in Cameron County, Texas. It was first collected in Florida in 1983, and although not common, it has the potential to become invasive. It is listed by the United States federal government and several states as a noxious weed. It is a species of riverbanks and swamps, where it can form impenetrable, spiny thickets.

SELECTED REFERENCE Wunderlin, R. et al. 1993. Solanum viarum and S. tampicense (Solanaceae): Two weedy species new to Florida and the United States. Sida 15: 605–611.