Solanum seaforthianum Andrews, Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: nan qing qi

English: Brazilian nightshade, Italian jasmine, St. Vincent lilac, potato creeper, star potato vine

French: liane pomme Édouard, liane pomme de terre, petite liane patate

Spanish: guindilla

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Climbers to 3-4 m tall with slender stems, unarmed, glabrous except with simple, few-celled hairs along leaf margins, on veins of lower surface, and on corolla margins and tips, a few short glandular hairs on peduncles and pedicels.  Leaves usually pinnatifid, alternate, ovate in outline, ca. 5-8 cm long, partly or completely pinnately divided to midrib into 3-9 lobes, lowest lobe often smaller, other lobes oblanceolate, short-petiolate or broadly attached, sinuses rounded or acute, base oblique, petioles 2-4 cm long.  Flowers perfect, actinomorphic, few to 50 in showy panicles, at first terminal but soon becoming lateral by sympodial growth, pedicels slender, slightly thickened toward summit, ca. 1 cm long; calyx tubular, 1-2 mm long, the lobes short and obtuse, margins subentire; corolla mauve blue, stellate, deeply divided, the tube 2-3 mm long, the limb 2-3 cm in diameter, pubescent; stamens inserted on corolla tube; filaments 2-4 mm long; anthers oblong, stout, slightly unequal, ca. 4 mm long, opening by terminal pores; ovary glabrous or with a few glandular hairs; style 1, erect, 7-8 mm long; stigma terminal, capitate.  Berries bright shiny red, succulent, globose, ca. 1 cm in diameter.  Seeds reddish brown, compressed, 2-3 mm in diameter, shaggy pubescent.  Self-compatible"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1275-1276).

Habitat/ecology:  Tropical, invasive on rainforest edges and disturbed areas. In New Caledonia, "plante ornementale maintenant peu cultivée mais localement commune dans les fourrés secondaires, parfois loin de toute habitation" (MacKee, 1994; p. 133).

Propagation:  Seed, bird-dispersed.

Native range:  West Indies; widely grown as an ornamental and naturalized in many tropical areas (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1275-1276).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisé
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisé
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisé
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisé
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 19) Voucher cited: C. Imada, T. Kelley & C. Puttock 2001-18 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced	Wester, Lyndon (1992) (p. 150)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1275-1277)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced	Wester, Lyndon (1992) (p. 150)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1275-1277) Voucher cited: Rock 17162 (BISH)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 133) Vouchers cited: Bergeret 29, MacKee 5201
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 383) Localement commune dans les fourrés secondaires, parfois loin de toute habitation.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 133) Vouchers cited: Franc 1810, Däniker 24, MacKee 2006, Morat 6337 (NOU), Suprin 2096 (NOU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1949) (voucher ID: BISH 10848) Taxon name on voucher: Solanum seaforthianum Andrews
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1982) (voucher ID: PTBG 32933) Taxon name on voucher: Solanum seaforthianum Andr.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 133) Voucher cited: Baumann 13911
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Leprédour	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 133) Voucher cited: Boulet in MacKee 20579
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced cultivated	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 498) Widely cultivated as an ornamental.
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1978) (voucher ID: BISH 424751) Taxon name on voucher: Solanum seaforthianum Andrews
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 618521) Taxon name on voucher: Solanum seaforthianum Andrews
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Tanna Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 415789) Taxon name on voucher: Solanum seaforthianum Andrews
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 342)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Queensland Herbarium (2002) (p. 7)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	El Salvador (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Near roads, cultivated in gardens; 600-1300 m. Yunnan.
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized?
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Ching-I Peng, ed. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/subspontanée"
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Solanum seaforthianum, please let us know.