Solanum emulans Raf.

1.Solanum emulansRaf., Autik. Bot.: 107 (1840). Fig. 1 = Solanum nigrum var. virginicum L., Sp. Pl. 186 (1753) ≡ Solanum virginicum (L.) Hayne, Getreue Darstell. Gew. 2: ad tab. 40 (1809), non Solanum virginianum L. (1753) ≡ Solanum dillenianum Polg., Acta Horti Gothob. 13: 281 (1939). Type. [icon] “ Solanum nigrum vulgari simile, caulibus exasperates, ” cultivated in England, at James Sherard’s garden in Eltham (lectotype, designated by Edmonds in Jarvis (2007: 861): Dillenius, Hortus Elthamensis 2: 368, tab. 275, f. 356 (1732)). Type. USA. “ Amer. bor. ”, C. S. Rafinesque s. n. (neotype, designated by Knapp et al. (2019: 60): W 0009388). Description. Upright non-sticky annuals up to 1 m tall; trichomes simple, scattered; leaves green, base broadly cuneate, margin entire or shallowly sinuate; each cyme with 3–6 flowers; corolla actinomorphic, white, 8.0–10.0 mm in diameter, anthers 1.0– 1.5 mm long, equal; calyx not accrescent, much shorter than fruit, appressed to spreading; fruit 6–8 mm in diameter, black, rather opaque; mature fruits dropping with the pedicel, with 6–10 sclerotic granules. Taxonomic note. Solanum emulans can be distinguished from S. nigrum by the presence of sclerotic granules in berries and by very short anthers, 1.5 mm long or less (vs. over 2 mm long) (Knapp et al. 2019). Solanum americanum differs from S. emulans in mature berries dropping without the pedicel, sclerotic granules absent or at most 2 (4–6) (vs. dropping with the pedicel, sclerotic granules more than four, usually eight per berry), and calyx lobes strongly reflexed in fruit (vs. calyx lobes appressed to spreading in fruit) (Knapp et al. 2019). The leaves of S. americanum are rather attenuated toward the apex, usually with indistinct dentation, whereas those of S. emulans have a rather broadly triangular apex and prominent dentation. Knapp et al. (2019) added S. adventitium Polg. to the synonymy of S. emulans. Polgár (1926) noted that S. adventitium is characterized by nearly entire to sinuate-dentate leaves and constantly six sclerotic granules in the fruit. On the basis of these characters, Edmonds (1972) referred this taxon to S. americanum, which also has subentire leaves and sometimes sclerotic granules in the fruit. Polgár (1926) inferred the origin (source of introduction) of S. adventitium as South America (Argentina), which is at odds with the distribution of S. emulans. Nomenclatural note. The earliest binomial for this species appears to be Solanum virginicum (L.) Hayne, which cannot be used because of the confusing similarity with its earlier near-homonym, S. virginianum L. This confusion can be seen in a number of old references, including Linnaeus (1771) and Rafinesque (1840). Distribution. A species native to North America (Knapp et al. 2019) and recently introduced in Europe, with very few scattered records known (Karlsson 1998; Verloove 2006; Puzyryov 2021 b). In European Russia (Fig. 2 A), this species is known only from Izhevsk Town, Udmurt Republic, where it was introduced with imported grain, presumably from North America, as suggested by its appearance during the Soviet grain crisis (Puzyryov 2021 b). The specimens were collected in the early 1990 s but identified only recently, when a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the Morelloid clade became available (Särkinen et al. 2018). Puzyryov (2021 b) identified his herbarium specimens on the basis of identification keys provided by Särkinen et al. (2018) and Knapp et al. (2019), owing to the presence of numerous sclerotic granules in the berries and prominently dentate leaves. Ecology. Ruderal places around grain storage and processing facilities and cargo railway stations. Residence status. Casual alien. The species can be evaluated as an ephemerophyte in the temperate climate. Pathways of introduction. Transport – Contaminant: seed contaminant. Due to the records at grain processing facilities (Puzyryov 2021 b), the species is a typical grain immigrant.