Solanum nitidibaccatum Bitter 2026

2.Solanum nitidibaccatumBitter, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 11: 208 (1912) nom. cons. Fig. 3 ≡ Solanum physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum (Bitter) Edmonds, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 92: 27 (1986). Type. Chile. [Without exact locality], 1829, E. F. Poeppig s. n. (lectotype, designated by Edmonds (1986: 27): W 0004151; isolectotype: F [V 0073346 F, acc. # 875221]). Description. Upright, ascending or prostrate ± sticky annuals with stems up to 30 cm long; trichomes up to 2 mm long, spreading, simple and glandular especially abundant in upper stem parts and inflorescence; leaves light or bright green, concolorous, base broadly cuneate or truncate, margin entire or shallowly sinuate, pubescent; each cyme of 3–6 (8) flowers; corolla actinomorphic, white, 5–9 mm in diameter, anthers 1.2–1.8 mm long, equal; calyx accrescent and not fully enveloping the fruit (up to 2 / 3 of fruit length), appressed but spreading in ripe fruits; fruit 5–8 mm in diameter, dark green or olivaceous, rather shiny when mature, sclereidal concretions present, 1–3. Taxonomic note. This South American species has been reported under the erroneous name S. physalifolium (e. g., Melnikov 2011; Sobrino Vesperinas and Sanz Elorza 2012; Galasso et al. 2018 a; Mayorov 2018; Mayorov et al. 2019, 2020; Ebel et al. 2022) or accepted at a varietal rank as S. physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum (Karlsson 1998; Mito and Uesugo 2004; Verloove 2006). According to current knowledge, both species are clearly distinct: S. physalifolium has anthers ca. 2 mm long (vs. less than 2 mm long in S. nitidibaccatum), and fruiting calyx lobes spreading, with very marked venation (vs. not markedly spreading lobes with indistinct venation) (Knapp et al. 2020). Solanum physalifolium is considered endemic to the Central and Southern Andes and is not found outside its native range (Särkinen et al. 2018; Galasso et al. 2018 b, 2024). Another South American species, S. sarrachoides Sendn., is morphologically very close to S. nitidibaccatum but differs from the latter by the calyx fully enveloping the fruit. Edmonds (1986) provided an extensive morphological analysis of both S. nitidibaccatum (as S. physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum) and S. sarrachoides and concluded that they cannot be merged into one variable species. Originating from South America, the latter species is a neophyte in some regions of the world, found in Europe in the early 20 th century (Särkinen et al. 2018), with further records in the late 20 th century, e. g., in southern Europe (Laorga 1983; Giráldez 1986) and Australia (Lepschi 1996). For a long time, this species was treated in a broad sense, including S. nitidibaccatum (e. g., Edmonds 1972; see also the discussion in Särkinen et al. 2018). For this reason, some records of this species outside South America may belong to S. nitidibaccatum. Interestingly, S. nitidibaccatum and S. sarrachoides were first discovered in Europe approximately at the same time (according to the specimens cited in Särkinen et al. 2018), in the late 19 th (S. nitidibaccatum) and early 20 th centuries (S. sarrachoides). Specimens with an accrescent calyx fully enveloping or even exceeding the fruits were seen by us, e. g., from Sweden (Blom 1936, K 001150943) and the United Kingdom (Melville 1927, K 001150934, K 001150935; Hubbard et al. 1929, K 001150930; Sandwith and Milne-Redhead 1945, K 001150936 – K 001150938; Lousley 1954, K 001150933; Dony 1955, K 001150940). So far, no records of S. sarrachoides are available from Eastern Europe. Solanum nitidibaccatum is characterized by vigorous growth and an unusual branching pattern, which readily distinguishes it from the similar and common black-fruited weed S. nigrum (Bosek 1989). When distinguished on the basis of vegetative characters, S. nitidibaccatum was sometimes misidentified as S. villosum in floristic explorations, e. g., Sapronova and Safonov (2000), Poluyanov (2005), and Kravchenko (2024). Distribution. Native to temperate South America; naturalized alien in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Solanum nitidibaccatum was unintentionally introduced to Germany at the end of the 19 th century (Militzer 1964). In the early 20 th century, it was also collected in several European countries, including Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (Hegi 1927; Särkinen et al. 2018). The majority of its collections in Europe date from the 1990 s (Särkinen et al. 2018). Outside Europe, S. nitidibaccatum is widely distributed as an alien species in many parts of North America, temperate and subtropical Asia, and Australia (Mito and Uesugo 2004, as S. physalifolium var. nitidibaccatum; Särkinen and Knapp 2022; Amin et al. 2025). It has also recently been discovered in North Africa (Morocco: Khamar et al. 2024). In Eastern Europe, the species was reported from Belarus (Dubovik et al. 2014) and Moldova (Puzyryov 2021 a and references therein). In European Russia (Fig. 2 B), S. nitidibaccatum has been found in Bryansk Oblast (Bosek 1989), Chelyabinsk Oblast (Ebel et al. 2022, as S. physalifolium), Kirov Oblast (new record), Republic of Karelia (Kravchenko 2024, as S. villosum), Kursk Oblast (Sapronova and Safonov 2000, as S. villosum; Mayorov 2018, as S. physalifolium), Republic of Mordovia (Silaeva et al. 2016, as S. physalifolium), Moscow Oblast (Mayorov et al. 2012, 2019, 2020, as S. physalifolium), Leningrad Oblast (new record), Ryazan Oblast (Mayorov 2018, as S. physalifolium), Saratov Oblast (Puzyryov 2021 a), Sverdlovsk Oblast (new record), Republic of Tatarstan (new record), and Udmurt Republic (Ilminskikh et al. 1998; Puzyryov 2006, 2009, 2021 a, 2025; Baranova and Puzyryov 2012). In the North Caucasus (Fig. 2 B), S. nitidibaccatum was first recorded from the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (Puzyryov 2021 a) and later from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania (new records). In Russia, Solanum nitidibaccatum was first discovered in Bryansk Oblast in 1987 (Bosek 1989) and shortly thereafter in many other administrative units. It is largely found in forest-steppe and steppe zones of European Russia but also occasionally occurs farther north, up to Karelia. In the North Caucasus, the species is found in foothills and uplands with adequate precipitation. Perhaps the most abundant observations of S. nitidibaccatum originate from the Udmurt Republic, where the species has been repeatedly found, often in large quantities, on cultivated and waste lands, in ruderal places, and along roadsides (reviewed by Puzyryov 2021 a). In Leningrad Oblast, this species was first found only in 2014–2015 on Gogland Island in the eastern Gulf of Finland (new record). Its previous report from this administrative territory (Saarisalo-Taubert 1967) is erroneous. That record was based on a specimen (Viipuri [now Vyborg town], 1907, L. Oesch s. n. TUR – image!) corresponding to S. nigrum, more densely covered with trichomes and with clearly longer anthers (at least 2 mm long). A putative first observation of S. nitidibaccatum near Moscow (Lytkarino township) was made by M. Nuraliev, and a photograph documenting this record was reproduced by Mayorov et al. (2020, as S. physalifolium). The voucher for another record [Moscow City, Verkhnyaya Khokhlovka St., lawn, one individual, 18 August 2015, V. Bochkin, MHA] cited by Mayorov et al. (2019) has not been found in the herbarium. Our record is therefore the first specimen-documented record of S. nitidibaccatum for Moscow City and Moscow Oblast as a whole. Puzyryov (2021 a) speculated that S. nitidibaccatum may already have occurred in territories adjacent to the Udmurt Republic, e. g., the Republic of Tatarstan, Kirov Oblast, and Sverdlovsk Oblast. We confirm the occurrence of the species in these territories on the basis of documented observations available on iNaturalist. Ecology. Waste and disturbed ground, cultivated land (fields, commercial and kitchen gardens, flower gardens), roadsides, lawns, and spreading to disturbed natural grasslands. Residence status. The residence status of this species is variable throughout Europe. In Germany, it seems to have naturalized by the mid- 20 th century (Militzer 1964). The same status has been recently reported from Belgium (Verloove 2006, as S. physalifolium) and Italy (Galasso et al. 2018 a, as S. physalifolium; Galasso et al. 2024), but the species appears to be a rare casual alien in Albania (Barina et al. 2014, as S. physalifolium). Collections from numerous regions may confirm the species’ naturalization in European Russia and the North Caucasus, especially in the Udmurt Republic, where extensive weedy populations have been found (Melnikov 2011, as S. physalifolium; Puzyryov 2021 a). Similar observations were obtained from the South Ural and South Siberia, where the species spreads actively (Ebel et al. 2022, with references therein; Chepinoga et al. 2024). On the other hand, the species is recorded as clearly casual (present as single individuals along roadsides and on waste ground) in other regions, e. g., the Republic of Karelia, the Moscow Region, and the Republic of Tatarstan. Pathways of introduction. Transport – Contaminant: seed contaminant. Puzyryov (2021 a) inferred from the species’ occurrence in cornfields that it likely originated as a grain contaminant of North American origin in the Udmurt Republic (in the 1990 s, Russia actively imported grain from North America). This appears to be its major introduction pathway in Russia. Nevertheless, many recent records from various areas were made in ruderal habitats, e. g., roadsides, lawns, and disturbed grassy landscapes, but its presence in cultivated areas, especially in potato fields (Vershinin and Kuzmin in Nobis et al. 2020), is also notable. Further local dispersal of the species is observed with agricultural transport and along roadsides (Puzyryov 2025).