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Solanum carolinense

AgroAtlas - Weeds - Solanum carolinense L. - Horse-nettle. Family Solanaceae Juss., genus Solanum L. Solanum hirsutum Nitt., S.sodomeum L. Perennial weed forming rootstocks. Plant is 30-120 cm in height. Stem is thick, straight, branched, covered with a large amount of stellate hairs and firm yellow thorns that are up to 5 mm in length. Roots are thick, vertical-horizontal. Produces above-ground shoots; horizontal roots diverge from thick vertical root branched in its upper part at depths of 10-30 cm. Vertical roots penetrate down to depths of more than 3 m. Leaves are entire, alternate, with short petioles, pinnatilobate; they are covered with stellate hairs along edges, middle ribs and petioles. Flowers are large, located in upper axillary inflorescences, bisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx consists of 5 lobes. Corolla consists of 5 oval petals having bluish-white to lilac colour. This plant flowers in May-September, bears fruits in July-November. Fruit is a succulent berry, yellow or orange, round, glabrous, containing 40 to 170 seeds. Seeds are yellow or brown, flat, rounded-oval, flattened laterally; their surface is oily and covered with small knobs. S. carolinense reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively. One plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds. Fresh seeds do not germinate, staying dormant for 5-6 months. Optimum temperature for seed germination is 23-25œC; germination also occurs by alternating temperatures from 20 to 30œC. Optimum depth for seed germination is 2-5 cm. Seeds remain viable in soil for more than 3 years. Vegetative reproduction of S.carolinense occurs by rootstocks and root fragments. Parental horizontal roots can reach 1 m before they produce new above-ground shoots, which produce their own vertical and horizontal roots. Thus patches of S.carolinense are formed, having a density of 20 and more shoots per 1 square meter. This plant successfully reproduces from root fragments at soil depths of 30 cm and more.

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