Euphorbia thymifolia – Thyme-leaf Sandmat

Euphorbia thymifolia (synonym: Chamaesyce thymifolia) is an unassuming little annual native from Mexico to Argentina, the West Indies, and the paleotropics (Africa and Asia). It has been introduced in the Hawaiian islands and is considered by some to have been introduced in Florida, but the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants lists it as native. I have observed it at three sites in Florida: (1) in pavement cracks in downtown Tampa; (2) near the mouth of a gopher tortoise burrow in a sandhill habitat in Tampa; and (3) in a highly disturbed old field that had originally been sand scrub at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County.

A young plant growing under very harsh conditions in a tiny crack in the street in front of my house.

As is the case with most annual, weedy spurges formerly in the genus Chamaesyce, it is very easily grown and, once introduced into a garden, you will likely have it forever. Although it can be a weed of potted plants, thus far it has not been a problem in the garden. Certainly, it is nowhere near as aggressive and abundant as the quadrumvirate of weedy spurges in my yard that can sometimes number in the hundreds: Euphorbia graminea, Euphorbia hirta, Euphorbia hypericifolia, and Euphorbia ophthalmica.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Johnny Poke Seed

Early last year, I collected a few seeds from a pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, that had spontaneously arisen among some saw palmetto palms (Serenoa repens) in a local park. The seeds were duly planted and I selected one seedling to pot up and, eventually, plant in the ground in my front yard. That plant happily grew and produced an enormous number of fruits, much to the delight of the local mockingbirds. Unfortunately, its large size was threatening its more delicate neighbors so I consigned it to the compost bin.

This spring, I noticed its progeny popping up here and there. The photograph above shows a plant growing in my neighbor's yard along our mutual fence line. The picture below is a close-up of the flowers of that same plant. Another plant showed up on my property about 100 feet (30.48 meters) from where the parent plant had been removed. And speaking of the parent plant, a seedling came up inches away from the site of the original plant and that seedling is now about 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and beginning to flower and fruit. It looks as if pokeweed is here to stay in my yard and, with the help of some feathered friends, perhaps other yards and vacant lots in the neighborhood.

Update: Since this blog post was published on 22 June 2013, the pokeweed established about 100 feet (30.48 meters) from the parent plant died. When I pulled it up from the ground, its root system had rotted, presumably as the result of the torrential, record-breaking rains that Palm Beach County had this spring and early summer.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Spanish Daisy and Company

A Spanish daisy, Helenium amarum, made itself at home in my carport. It is a perky and pretty yellow annual daisy native to Florida. It is joined by two additional native annuals: slender three-seeded mercury, Acalypha gracilens, and partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata. Rounding out this little micro-biome are two native perennial grasses (Paspalum species). One of the grasses is visible on the left side of the Spanish daisy and just a hint of the leaves of the second grass is visible at the extreme left of the photograph.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Two Flat Sedges – Cyperus haspan and Cyperus odoratus

Cyperus odoratus.

Flat sedges, members of the genus Cyperus, are rarely grown even though 35 native species occur in Florida, along with an additional 19 non-native species. Flat sedges are mostly wetland plants found in moist pine flatwoods, bogs, marshes, swamps, and along the margins of streams, ponds, and lakes. They also occur in artificial impoundments and ditches. A few species occur in dry sandy areas, such as sand scrub. Some species, both native and non-native, are extremely weedy and perhaps this has given the whole genus a bad reputation. Their flowers are individually insignificant and come in various shades of green or brown; however, they are aggregated into often conspicuous, sometimes even attractive, inflorescences.

I am currently growing, as potted plants, two native flat sedges. The first, shown above, is Cyperus odoratus (fragrant flat sedge). It is a common weedy annual found nearly throughout Florida. The second, shown below, is Cyperus haspan (leafless flat sedge). It is unusual in that the leaf blades are usually reduced to an inconspicuous sheath and its culms appear to be leafless. It is a perennial species that, like Cyperus odoratus, is a common, rather weedy, sedge found nearly throughout Florida.

Cyperus haspan

Cyperus haspan

Nearly all flat sedges are effortlessly grown so long as they are provided with moist soil and plenty of sunlight. Usually, their cultivation presents only two significant problems. Each plant is capable of producing hundreds or thousands of seeds, each one of which seems to readily germinate. And flat sedges are identified on the basis of minute, technical, recondite characters and are very difficult for most gardeners to identify. As a consequence, it is often difficult for non-botanists to know whether a given flat sedge is a native species or an introduced, non-native species.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Pineland Lobelia – Lobelia homophylla

Pineland lobelia is a an annual lobelia that is endemic to Florida and has been recorded in St. Johns County in north Florida from where it ranges south to Collier County on Florida's west coast and to St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast. In the spring of 2005, a single plant was established from a cutting given to me by a native plant acquaintance. The cutting was collected from plants growing in a ditch in Martin County and these plants constituted a new county record since the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants does not list pineland lobelia as occurring in Martin County. I rooted the cutting and, in due course, it flowered and set seed. The seed was broadcast among several potted native plants and a colony of pineland lobelia has thrived at my home ever since.

Seedling pineland lobelias growing in cracks in my driveway.

Innumerable plants now come up every year in my potted plants, as well as in cracks in my driveway and in my wildflower beds. Pineland lobelia grows best in open, sunny, moist areas but it will also grow in light to medium shade. In drier spots, it behaves as a winter annual but, if there is sufficient moisture, it will grow year around. Seeds germinate vigorously with the arrival of cool autumn weather and seeds are the most effective way of propagating pineland lobelia. As I mentioned above, it can be grown from cuttings but plants produced from cuttings do not develop normally since they have a tendency to devote all of their energy to flowering and soon seed themselves to death.

Pineland lobelia has limited wildlife value but it is useful for adding a bit of blue color to wildflower gardens as well attracting native bees and honeybees to the garden. So far, it has not been bothered by pests and its only major fault is that it is an annual that dies after flowering. Thus, it is important to let it go to seed and to provide open, moist areas where it can grow without competition from taller and more aggressive plants. Pineland lobelia can be mistaken for bay lobelia (Lobelia feayana) but pineland lobelia grows from a loose rosette and has erect stems whereas bay lobelia has creeping vegetative stems that root wherever they touch the ground.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Zinnias etc.

Cosmos sulphureus, a short-lived annual native to the American tropics, is attractive to many insects.

UPDATE: The United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database lists the scientific name of the common garden zinnia as Zinnia violacea; however, the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants uses the name Zinnia elegans and lists Zinnia violacea as a nomen rejiciendum (a rejected name) under the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants. As a result, the name Zinnia elegans is used in this blog post.

I visited the garden of Robert Hopper today and found that his cottage garden annuals were in full bloom. Further north, these annuals would be planted in the spring to flower in the summer. Here in south Florida, they are planted in the autumn to flower throughout the winter.

Some of the plants in flower included Cosmos bipinnatus, Cosmos sulphureus, Portulaca grandiflora, Salvia farinacea, Zinnia angustifolia, and Zinnia elegans. Except for Salvia farinacea, which is a perennial native to Texas and New Mexico, these plants are all annuals native to Central or South America. To date, none have exhibited invasive tendencies in the United States and all have showy flowers that are attractive to numerous native pollinating insects as well as to honeybees. The plants of Zinnia elegans apparently came from open-pollinated seeds Burpee's Cut & Come Again Mix and a wide variety of colors and forms, including singles, semi-doubles, and doubles, were present in the garden. Fully double zinnias have little or no wildlife value but zinnias with single and semi-double flowers are irresistible to honeybees, native bees, hover flies, skippers, butterflies, hawk moths, various flower-visiting wasps, and hummingbirds.

Zinnia elegans, the common garden zinnia, tends to be short-lived in south Florida and is subject to diseases and pests that disfigure the leaves such as viruses, downy mildew, and leaf miners. It was originally native to Mexico but can now be found in gardens nearly throughout the world. If allowed to go to seed, it can persist in garden settings from self-sown seedlings but it eventually reverts to its wild form and plants with double, pom-pom-like flowers are replaced by plants with single or semi-double flowers. It also tends to escape from cultivation, especially to roadsides and other areas kept free from competing vegetation by natural disturbances or human activity; however, it generally does not persist for long.

Below are images of a few of the plants in Rob's garden as well as a rather extensive gallery of some of the many variations of Zinnia elegans that sprung up in his garden.

Angelonia angusifolia soon dies in my garden but this attractive dark purple form has proven to be long-lived in Rob's garden. Originally native to Mexico and Guatemala, it is now widespread in the tropics as an escape from cultivation.

Landoltia punctata has formed a solid cover on the surface of a small aquatic garden in Rob's yard. It is frequently misidentified as a native duckweed; however, no North American records are known prior to its occurrence in 1930 in a goldfish pond in Kansas City, Missouri, and it is now known to be native to southeast Asia and Australia.

Zinnia angustifolia is a small annual that produces numerous brilliant white, yellow, or orange daisies. It does not last long in the garden since it tends to quickly flower and seed itself to death. Native to Mexico, it has been bred with Zinnia elegans to produce a hybrid zinnia that has the disease resistance and abundant flowers of the former with the large flower size and range of colors of the latter.

All subsequent images are of the various forms of Zinnia elegans that sprung up in Rob's garden.

Zinnia elegans with flowers of an unusual burnt orange color. In the upper right, one can see the attractive flower buds typically found in garden zinnias. These are globose and have green bracts with black-rimmed margins.

Plants of Zinnia elegans with single flowers, such as this one, have the most wildlife value since the yellow disc florets provide plenty of pollen and nectar.

A plant of Zinnia elegans with semi-double flowers.

Plants of Zinnia elegans with fully double flowers, such as this one, lack the pollen- and nectar-bearing disk florets and have little value to insect wildlife.

The discoloration of the leaf in the upper right hand corner of the photograph is the result of leaf miners.

The flower heads in this photograph and the following two photographs are displaying symptoms caused by the Bidens mottle virus, which causes deformities of the leaves as well as color breaks in the flowers.

Color breaks, such as those shown in this photograph, are a symptom of the Bidens mottle virus. The virus is spread by aphids and is hard to avoid since Bidens alba, a common and abundant weed of south Florida, serves as a reservoir by which the virus can readily infect garden plants.

The effects of Bidens mottle virus are sometimes dramatic and colorful as in the above example; however, if such plants are not destroyed they will act as a reservoir for the virus and allow the virus to spread to other plants.

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, on Zinnia elegans. The foliage in the background, as well as in the flower buds in the lower left hand corner, belong to Cosmos sulphureus.

The spiny branches visible in the photograph belong to Acacia pinetorum, a small, shrubby, native acacia that becomes a mass of fragrant, yellow, globose flower heads in the spring.

Images and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Polygala nana – Dwarf Bachelor's Button

Image © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Gaillardia pulchella – Firewheel

Gaillardia pulchella has several common names, including "indian blanket" and "firewheel."

Gaillardia pulchella is an easily grown annual commonly cultivated for its showy flowers. The flowers are exceptionally attractive to native bees as well as to a wide variety of both large and small butterflies. Although commonly regarded as native to Florida, the genus is centered in the great plains of the United States. Also, Florida plants exhibit wide variation in the size, form, and color of the ray florets (the so-called petals of a daisy), and this bolsters the possibility that perhaps some populations in Florida are derived from plants that escaped cultivation. This particularly showy form was photographed on a deeply overcast day at the Native Choice Nursery in Boynton Beach on Saturday, May 26, 2012.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Polygala nana – Dwarf Bachelor's Button

Polygala nana growing in an area of moist sugar sand at the Juno Dunes Natural Area in Palm Beach County, Florida.

I always think that extremely tiny plants like this one with nearly stalkless flowerheads are the endangered Polygala smallii. However, every time I measure the seeds, the plants turn out to be Polygala nana. In Polygala smallii, the seeds are 1.9–2.3 mm long, whereas in Polygala nana, they are up to 1.6 mm long.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Pelargonium Caliente® Fire '09

Caliente^® is a series of Pelargonium hybrids developed by Syngenta for increased heat tolerance. The plants have great hybrid vigor, which results from crossing zonal pelargoniums (Pelargonium × hortorum) with ivy pelargoniums (Pelargonium peltatum). Although touted on various web sites as suitable for the deep south, the Syngenta web site lists the heat tolerance of the Caliente^® series as moderate, that is, 70–80° F (21–27° C), which does not appear to be much, or at all, greater than the heat tolerance of typical zonal pelargoniums. Perhaps the plants are being compared, not to zonal pelargoniums, but to regal pelargoniums (Pelargonium × domesticum) and to regular ivy pelargoniums (Pelargonium peltatum), both of which tend to have low heat tolerance. In any event, the Caliente^® series can be expected to burn out during south Florida's torrid summers; however, for reasons that are not too clear, when grown in pots the plants tend to be much more heat tolerant than if planted in the ground, especially if protected from the intense afternoon sun.

Fire '09 is a Caliente^® cultivar characterized by very dark green leaves and intense tomato-red flowers. Unfortunately, it is all but impossible to capture the true color of its flowers with either film or digital cameras and the above image has an orange tone that is completely lacking when the flowers are viewed by the human eye. Fire '09 is listed by Syngenta as PPAF (plant patent applied for), which precludes its vegetative propagation without a license from Syngenta.

 

© 2011 Rufino Osorio.

Ipomoea ternifolia var. leptotoma

Ipomoea ternifolia var. leptotoma is a desert ephemeral native to Arizona and Mexico. It is horticulturally distinctive in its delicate, lacy leaves, which are divided into 3 or 5 narrow lobes; the rapidity with which it produces abundant flowers; and the striking violet-lavender color of its relatively large flowers.

Desert ephemerals are annuals that are adapted to brief periods of heavy rains and they are remarkable for the speed with which they flower and set seeds. Ipomoea ternifolia var. leptotoma, for example, will flower within a few weeks of germination. As the desert soil dries after heavy rains, the plant begins to die but even dying plants that have lost all their leaves will continue to produce flowers and set seeds so long as the stems remain green. Since desert ephemerals have no water-storing succulent roots, stems, or leaves, there is great urgency to set seeds before the last vestige of moisture is gone and extended hot and dry conditions return to the desert. The plants then lie dormant, in the form of seeds, awaiting the next period of heavy rain.

 

© 2010 Rufino Osorio.

Youngia japonica

Warning: Youngia japonica is an extremely pernicious non-native weed. It is included here only as an aid to identification and not to promote its cultivation in any way whatsoever.

Youngia is an Asian genus of about 30 species of annuals and biennials (or rarely perennials) in the daisy family. One species, Youngia japonica, is now a pantropical weed established throughout the warmer parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands, and North and South America (Spurr 2006). Youngia japonica has been reported in the United States from every Gulf state as well as Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Its presence as far north as Pennsylvania is perhaps indicative of significant cold tolerance and it may well become a truly cosmopolitan weed.

Youngia japonica forms a basal rosette of lobed leaves somewhat reminiscent of dandelions but it differs by its branched inflorescence, which bears one or two leaves and carries several to numerous small flower heads resembling tiny dandelions. The fruit is a one-seeded cypsela crowned by a tuft of stiff hairs that aid in dispersal by the wind. It is a remarkably adaptable plant and can grow in any moist site in full shade to full sun. It is usually not found in dry areas but it will tolerate considerably dry soil if situated in a shady spot.

Youngia japonica grows especially well in the pots of ornamental potted plants, both in gardens and commercial plant nurseries, and a single plant can quickly multiply into thousands, infesting every pot throughout an entire nursery. When such potted plants are shipped elsewhere, Youngia japonica is also inadvertently spread to new locations. For example, the first time I saw this species was in a specialty nursery in Chicago, where potted plants had been shipped in from Florida. All it would take is for the nursery owners to place the pots outdoors for the summer and it is likely that yet another non-native weed would soon be established in Chicago.

Once it builds up to a large population, Youngia japonica is extremely difficult to eradicate because even depauperate plants only an inch tall can flower and set seed, and such tiny plants are easily overlooked while weeding. In addition to being a nursery and garden weed, Youngia japonica is a common and tenacious lawn weed.

USDA Distribution Map

References:

• Spurr, P.L. 2006. Youngia. pp. 255–256. In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.) Flora of North America: Volume 19. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Internet
  
• USDA, NRCS. 2010. Youngia japonica. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge: National Plant Data Center. Internet

© 2010 Rufino Osorio (exclusive of the USDA map).

Silybum marianum – Blessed Milk Thistle

Warning: Silybum marianum has been listed as an invasive pest plant or noxious weed. It is included here only as an aid to identification and not to promote its cultivation in any way whatsoever.

Flowering plant in coastal California sage scrub. © 2010 Joseph Libertucci. Used by permission.

Silybum marianum is a biennial or winter annual originally native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, western Asia (Israel and Turkey), and northern Africa (Egypt). It is now widely established outside of cultivation as a weed in tropical and southern Africa, northern Europe, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand, and North and South America. It is readily identified by the spiny leaves that are conspicuously variegated, as well as by the flower heads, which are subtended by bracts whose tips expand into a leafy, spine-tipped appendage.

Foliage of young plant. © by Valérie75 2006. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Milk thistle seed extract (silymarin) has shown promise in the treatment of liver diseases, cancer, hepatitis C, HIV, diabetes, and high cholesterol, as well as protective effects against liver damage by poisonous mushrooms; however, there have been few high-quality randomized clinical trials to conclusively prove the therapeutic effects of milk thistle (see, for example, Tamayo & Diamond 2007).

Seedling. © by Beentree 2008. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Silybum marianum was touted as an ornamental garden plant in the 1980s and seeds were widely available from mailorder garden catalogs; however, its popularity has waned as gardeners realized that it dies after flowering and they must then deal with a large mass of dry and wickedly spiny foliage. It is still widely sold as an herb garden or medicinal plant but the therapeutic properties are contained in seed extracts and such extracts are easier to purchase ready-made than to make at home from seeds harvested in the garden. In several states, Silybum marianum is an invasive pest plant or a declared noxious weed. Thus, in view of its weedy nature as well as its toxicity to livestock, its cultivation should not be encouraged.

USDA Distribution Map

 

References:

• Tamayo, C. and S. Diamond. 2007. Review of clinical trials evaluating safety and efficacy of milk thistle (Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn.) [abstract]. Integrative Cancer Therapies 6(2): 146–157.
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Silybum marianum. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Internet

Text © 2010 Rufino Osorio. All images copyrighted by their respective owners as indicated above.

Crotalaria pumila – Low Rattlebox

Crotalaria pumila is an annual or short-lived perennial that generally grows up to about 12 inches tall and about as wide or wider. It has alternate leaves with each leaf divided into three segments. The flowers are bright golden yellow with usually some red streaks, the streaks being especially pronounced on the back of the banner petal. Flowers are soon followed by inflated light brown pods with loose seeds that rattle when the pods are shaken. The plant does not spread vegetatively; however, the pods eventually split open with great suddenness and ballistically hurl the seeds several feet away from the parent plant.

The principal horticultural uses are as a small ornamental wildflower, as a low groundcover, and as a butterfly garden or insect garden plant. Two groups of insects are attracted to Crotalaria pumila: the foliage is used by the caterpillars of the cassius blue butterfly and the bella moth (a beautiful day-flying moth with white wings banded with orange-pink spots), while the flowers attract small native bees, which serve as the principal pollinators. Plants are very easily grown in any open, sunny spot with well-drained soil and the seeds germinate within a few days if the hard seed coat is lightly nicked or scratched between two sheets of sandpaper.

Crotalaria pumila: has a remarkably wide range that includes Florida as well as the western United States. It has also been reported from Maryland, and it has been introduced on the Hawaiian Islands. Outside of the United States, it occurs in both the Lesser and Greater Antilles and from Mexico south to Paraguay and Argentina.

USDA Distribution Map

 

© 2010 Rufino Osorio (exclusive of the USDA map).

American Black Nightshade

The tiny white flowers are followed by conspicuous, glossy black berries that are eaten by a wide variety of birds and mammals.

Two species of black nightshade are native to Florida, Solanum americanum, the American black nightshade (also known as the common or glossy black nightshade), and Solanum chenopodioides, the goosefoot black nightshade. The former has shiny black fruits that are held erect and are so glossy as to appear coated with varnish, whereas the latter has nodding, dull black fruits. In general, black nightshades are ignored by gardeners and are regarded as weedy annuals of little horticultural merit.

Being common weeds, I did not pay any more attention to the black nightshades occurring in Florida than I did to black nightshades growing in Chicago alleys or in waste ground in Puerto Rico. However, my negative views changed when, on an impulse, I rescued a seedling of Solanum americanum growing in a lawn in downtown West Palm Beach. The seedling was established in a pot of sandy soil, and, when it was well-rooted, planted in a sunny, moist spot in the garden. American black nightshade occurs in nearly every county in Florida in a wide variety of both upland and wetland sites. Therefore, I had no doubts that it would be easy to grow and easy to propagate from cuttings and seeds, and that indeed turned out to be the case.

The seedling soon grew into a bushy plant nearly 3 feet high and almost as wide, bore innumerable little flowers, and became laden with an equal number of showy, glossy black fruits. Growing in close proximity in the garden, I was able to carefully observe this plant and learned that this much maligned "weed" had many virtues.

Solanum americanum is a fast-growing pioneer plant that helps to stabilize recently disturbed soil—this is an important ecological role. In the garden, it plays the useful role of attracting a wide variety of wildlife. Most Solanum species, including American black nightshade, have flowers adapted for pollination by bees. Each anther opens by a tiny pore at its tip and the pollen is inaccessible to most insects. Bees, however, are able to shake the pollen out of the anthers by grasping it with their legs and buzzing their wings. The resulting vibrations cause the pollen to spill out of the anthers in the same manner that shaking a salt shaker causes salt to spill out. Once the fruits are set and begin to ripen, the plant becomes attractive to larger animals and 31 birds and a dozen mammals have been recorded as eating the berries of American black nightshade.

Like many other plants, American black nightshade has its flaws and three stand out in particular. Being an annual or short-lived perennial, plants are not permanent in the garden and must be periodically replaced. Secondly, as with all plants, it is sometimes afflicted by pests, the most frequent being aphids and leaf miners, but occasionally tobacco or tomato hornworms may make a meal of foliage. Aphids and leaf miners are tolerated by me since I feel that they contribute to the diversity of wildlife in my yard and I leave hornworms alone since they grow into hawkmoths, which are important pollinators of native plants whose flowers open at dusk. Lastly, large plants with masses of black, glossy berries may seem out of place among gayly colored wildflowers and look as if they would be more at home in the herb or vegetable garden.

Since black nightshades can become serious agricultural weeds, I was worried that the seedling I rescued would overrun my garden. Fortunately, black nightshades are specialized for colonizing open, disturbed ground and, in my experience, the seeds will not germinate if the ground is covered in any way, such as by mulch, fallen leaves, or other plants. Thus, in spite of both the original and subsequent plants producing huge crops of berries, less than two dozen seedlings have spontaneously appeared in my garden in four years.

Some gardeners may hesitate to grow American black nightshade because it is frequently encountered on lists of poisonous plants. However, and rather paradoxically, it is just as frequently encountered on lists of edible plants! Strong evidence of its edibility has come from feeding experiments with cattle that ultimately were unable to demonstrate any toxicity (Rogers & Ogg 1981). Additionally, there are numerous instances of the leaves and ripe berries being used as food both by aboriginal and modern cultures throughout its range. Recently, Solanum americanum has received attention as a vegetable worthy of domestication to supplement the nutrition of poor, rural, Central American communities. The plant is already a component of the everyday diet of such communities and scientific investigations have shown that American black nightshade grows rapidly, adapts well to a wide range of altitudes and soils, and has more protein, calories, fiber, calcium, iron, B vitamins, and vitamin C than spinach (De Macvean & Pöll 2002). Because of the conflicting reports of its toxicity, there is some speculation that perhaps both toxic and nontoxic races exist. This theory is supported by observations that some plants have bitter leaves and unpleasant tasting berries while others have bland leaves and mildly sweet berries.

Conservation Note: Florida's only other species of black nightshade, Solanum chenopodioides, while common in most parts of Florida, is listed as critically imperiled in southern Florida by the Institute for Regional Conservation. As a result, care should be taken not to endanger south Florida populations of Solanum chenopodioides by collecting plants or removing cuttings or seeds.

References:

De Macvean, A.L. and Pöll, E. 2002. Ethnobotany (Chapter 8). In: Vozzo, J.A. (ed.) Tropical tree seed manual. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Agriculture Handbook No. 721.

Rogers, B.S. and Ogg, A.G. 1981. Biology of Weeds in the Solanum nigrum Complex (Solanum Section Solanum) in North America. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Reviews and Manuals, ARM-W-23.

© 2003 as to text; 2009 as to the image. Rufino Osorio. All rights reserved.