Solanum jamesii
Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 227. 1827.
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Herbs, perennial, erect, unarmed, bearing tubers to 2 cm long, to 0.5 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs unbranched, gland-tipped. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1.5–3.5 cm, sometimes with pair of pinnatifid pseudostipules at base; blade compound, elliptic to ovate, 7–15 × 4–9 cm, margins divided into 1–4(–5) pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base attenuate. Inflorescences terminal, extra-axillary, generally forked or 3-fid, 4–10(–20)-flowered, to 3 cm. Pedicels articulated near middle, 1.6–3 cm in flower and fruit. Flowers radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 4–6 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, lobes deltate-acuminate; corolla white, stellate, 2.8–3.5 cm diam., without interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 5–6 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. Berries green, globose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. Seeds dark reddish brown, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose. 2n = 24.
Phenology: Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat: Hillsides, stream bottoms, sandy soils, disturbed grasslands, pinyon-juniper forests, oak thickets, coniferous and deciduous forests.
Elevation: 1300–2900 m.
Distribution
Ariz., Colo., N.Mex., Tex., Utah, Mexico (Chihuahua, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sonora).
Discussion
The tubers of Solanum jamesii have been gathered as food by Native Americans, and starch grains identified as S. jamesii from stone tools in Utah form the earliest evidence for the use of potatoes in North America (L. A. Louderback and B. M. Pavlik 2017). All other parts of the plant are toxic.
Selected References
None.