Shrubs or small trees, erect, sparsely armed, 1–2(–3.5) m, prickles brownish, straight or recurved, to 10 mm, moderately to densely bright white-pubes­cent, hairs sessile to short-stalked, stellate, 5–8-rayed, central ray shorter than lateral rays. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1.5–4 cm; blade simple, ovate to elliptic, 5–25 × 3–15 cm, margins entire to shallowly lobed with 2–4 lobes per side, lobe margins entire to undulate, base obtuse to cordate. Inflorescences extra-axillary, usually much-branched, 10–20-flowered, to 10 cm. Pedicels 0.5–1 cm in flower, erect and 1–2 cm in fruit. Flowers radially symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 5–8 mm, densely stellate-pubescent, lobes triangular; corolla usually blue to purple, rarely whitish, stellate to rotate-stellate, 2.5–4 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 6–8 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores; ovary glabrous to stellate-pubescent. Berries yellow to orange, globose, 0.7–1.5 cm diam., stellate-pubescent at apex, without sclerotic granules. Seeds yellow to light brown, flattened, 2.5–3 × 2–2.5 mm, minutely pitted.

Phenology: Flowering Apr–Aug.
Habitat: Disturbed sites.
Elevation: 0–400 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Calif., Mexico, Central America.

Discussion

Solanum lanceolatum is naturalized along the California coast and inland in central and southern California, where it is listed as a noxious weed by the California Department of Agriculture.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.