Solanaceae
Solanum

Solanum capsicoides All.

First published in Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur.: 12 (1773)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical America. It is an annual or subshrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used as a poison and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.

Descriptions

Solanaceae, Jennifer M Edmonds. Oliganthes, Melongena & Monodolichopus, Maria S. Vorontsova & Sandra Knapp. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2012

Type
Type: cultivated at Turin, Allioni s.n. (TO, holo., photo!; WIS, photo!)*[Note: * As this part was going to press, it was found that Renvoize & Abdallah 1925 from Tanzania, Mufindi (EA) is this species.]
Note
This species is native to coastal Brazil and is now a successful weed in many tropical and subtropical areas; it only occurs sporadically in Africa where it has been intoduced as an ornamental in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Natal). It prefers drier open lowland habitats, has apparently spread only slowly in Africa (Nee 1979) and has failed to become naturalised. The species is often known by the synonymous name S. ciliatum Lam. There has been much confusion between this species and S. aculeatissimum with Polhill (1961) suggesting that the latter was probably synonymous with S. capsicoides, and if so the latter name would have to take precedence . The two are most easily differentiated by their seed characteristics; those in S. capsicoides are larger (> 4 mm long) flat and winged, whereas those in S. aculeatissimum are smaller (< 3 mm long) rounded and without wings. It is probable that the Kenyan specimens listed as this species by Chiovenda (1912, 1935) were misidentified and belong to S. aculeatissimum. It is commonly known as the cock-roach berry, and the berries have been reported as poisonous to calves in Australia.
[FTEA]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 900 - 1800 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba, arbusto
Conservation
No Evaluada
[CPLC]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 900–1800 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Santander, Valle del Cauca.
Habit
Herb, Shrub.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Solanaceae, H. heine. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Diagnostic
Like the last (Solanum aculeatissimum), but indumentum less dense, particularly in the leaves above
Morphology Leaves
Leaves clearly ciliate (epithet!)
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits always red.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Poisons
Poisons.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0