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Useful Tropical Plants

Solanum sisymbriifolium

Lam.

Solanaceae

+ Synonyms

Solanum balbisii Dunal

Solanum bipinnatifidum Larrañaga

Solanum brancaefolium J.Jacq.

Solanum decurrens Balb.

Solanum edule Vell.

Solanum formosum Weinm.

Solanum inflatum Hornem.

Solanum mauritianum Willd. ex Roth

Solanum opuliflorum Port. ex Dunal

Solanum pilosum Raf.

Solanum rogersii S.Moore

Solanum sabeanum Buckley

Solanum subviscidum Schrank

Solanum thouinii C.C.Gmel.

Solanum viscidum Schweigg.

Solanum viscosum Lag.

Solanum xanthacanthum Willd. ex Walp.

Common Name: Sticky Nightshade

No Image.

General Information

Solanum sisymbriifolium is an erect, heavily armed, perennial plant with a lifestyle ranging from annual to short-lived perennial with more or less woody stems; it can grow from 40 - 150cm tall[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
]..
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is cultivated as a trap-crop to reduce pest levels in cultivated fields.

Known Hazards

Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[
293
Title
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes.
].
Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Botanical References

200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.

Range

S. America - central Chile, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia

Habitat

Naturalised in South-eastern N. America where it grows near sea ports in waste places and on ballast[
235
Title
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada
Publication
 
Author
Britton. N. L. Brown. A.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1970
ISBN
0-486-22642-5
Description
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitPerennial
Height1.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Solanum sisymbriifolium is native to drier regions in the tropical and sub-tropical zones. Plants are not very cold-hardy, though they can be grown as spring-sown annuals in temperate regions. In milder, almost frost-free climates they are perennial[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].
Succeeds in most soils[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
].
Solanum sisymbriifolium can be a serious weed of pastures in its native range, and attains high densities (much like thistles in the northern hemisphere) due to its unpalatibility. The plant has spread as a weed to many areas from the tropics to the temperate zone. In South Africa it is classified as a noxious weed[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].It is likely that in the tropics and subtropics the plant can persist as a semi-perennial, while in the temperate zones it is an annual[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].
In tropical climates the plant can flower and produce fruit all year round[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].

Edible Uses

Fruit[
177
Title
Plants for Human Consumption.
Publication
 
Author
Kunkel. G.
Publisher
Koeltz Scientific Books
Year
1984
ISBN
3874292169
Description
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
,
1438
Title
Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North,
Publication
 
Author
Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M.
Publisher
 
Year
2014
ISBN
 
Description
A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
]. The bright-red fruit is a spherical or depressed-spherical berry 12 - 16mm in diameter. The fruiting calyx is accrescent and wraps tightly around the developing fruit, opening out as the fruit ripens[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
]. There are 2 - 20 fruits per infructescence[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].

Medicinal

An infusion of the leaves is used as a treatment for stomach pains[
1669
Title
An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador
Publication
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 111 (2007) 63-81
Author
Tene V. et al
Website
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2006.10.032
Publisher
 
Year
2007
ISBN
0378-8741
Description
 
].
An infusion of the leaves and roots is used to treat infections[
1783
Title
Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador
Publication
 
Author
de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba
Publisher
Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific
Year
2008
ISBN
978-9978-77-135-8
Description
 
].

Agroforestry Uses:

Solanum sisymbriifolium is grown as a trap crop for potato cyst nematodes, a pest that can cause massive damage to potato crops in northern Europe. The young plants induce the eggs of the nematode to hatch but the standing crop is destroyed before the nematode is able to complete its life cycle. This procedure has been shown to reduce potato infestations by 50 - 80%[
435
Title
Solanaceae Source
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://solanaceaesource.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-12. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Solanum+sisymbriifolium>

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