Solanum tampicense

Non-Native to Florida

Online image request form

Wetland nightshade (AKA aquatic soda apple) is found growing in floodplain forests of the central peninsula and Monroe County. It is native to the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America and blooms in the fall (Wunderlin, 2003).

Appearance: Straggly and sprawling prickly shrub, woody below; herbaceous above, with prickly green stems to 5 m (16 ft) long and 1.5 cm (0.5 in) in diameter.

Leaves: Alternate, simple, with petioles to 3 cm (1.5 in) long; blades longer than wide, to 25 cm (10 in) long and 7 cm (3 in) wide, with deeply round-indented (sinuate) margins, recurved or straight prickles on veins, and stellate hairs.

Flowers: Small; 3 to 11 individual flowers in stalked, branched clusters at leaf axils; petals white, mostly free (fused only at base), spreading or often recurved; stamens with yellow anthers held closely and erect in center of flower.

Fruit: A small, spherical, tomato-like berry to 1 cm (0.4 in) wide, shiny solid green turning orange then bright red at maturity, with 10 to 60 yellowish, flat-round seeds.

Text from Invasive and Non-Native Plants You Should Know, Recognition Cards, by A. Richard and V. Ramey, 2007. UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, Publ. No. SP 431.

Download the Recognition Card (PDF 499 KB).

Refer theUF/IFAS Invasive Species Management Plans for Florida to learn more about Solanum spp. management.

View more information and pictures about wetland nightshade, as contained in the Langeland/Burks book, Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas.

See the UF/IFAS Assessment, which lists plants according to their invasive status in Florida.

View the herbarium specimen image of the University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.