Solanum carolinense (Carolina horsenettle)

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Solanum carolinense L.

Carolina horsenettle, horsenettle

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Solanales	Potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias, sweet potatoes, morning glories, many others
Family	Solanaceae	Nightshade or potato family
Genus	Solanum	“Quieting,” for the narcotic effect of some species
Species	carolinense	“Of or from the Carolinas”

About plant names...

Carolina horsenettle is a North American native, considered an invasive in many southern habitats.

Identification: Plants are up to 3' (1 m) tall, with round, hairy, spiny stems that become a bit woody with age. Leaves are alternate, on petioles (stems) up to ¾" (2 cm) long. They are elliptic-oblong to ovate. Smaller leaves are unlobed, while larger ones are often lobed, vaguely resembling oak leaves. They are up to 8" (20 cm) × 2½" (7 cm), and emit a potato-like odor when crushed. Flowers appear in small racemes at angles to the main stem. The racemes lengthen when the flowers begin producing fruit. Each flower is white to lilac to purple in color, a five-pointed star, with five yellow stamens like a miniature bunch of bananas in the center. They appear from May to October. Berries are green when immature, streaked with different shades of green, turning yellow when mature.

Online References:

Luirig.altervista.org

The Bugwood Wiki

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Vanderbilt University Bioimages web site

Invasive.org, Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health