Solanum nigrum L. 1753

Sennikov, Alexander & Lazkov, Georgy, 2022, The first checklist of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with new records and critical evaluation of earlier data. Contribution 2, Biodiversity Data Journal 10, pp. 80804-80804 : 80804

Solanum nigrum L. 1753

Solanum nigrum L., Sp. Pl. 1: 186 (1753).

Diagnosis

Calyx lobes more or less appressed ( Särkinen et al. 2018); fruits green to black (Fig. 24 ); foliage dark green, blackish when dried ( Kovalevskaya 1987).

Distribution

Native distribution

Southern Europe, Mediterranean, Southern Asia from Asia Minor to China. The species is most genetically diverse in Asia and may have an Asian origin ( Särkinen et al. 2018). In Central Asia, the species is considered native in Turkmenistan, where it was recorded more commonly from riversides in the mountains ( Pojarkova 1954b).

Secondary distribution

Archaeophyte in Boreal and Central Europe, Northern and Central Asia; neophyte in North America, South Africa, Malesia and Australia. One of the most common and widely distributed weeds in the world ( Holm et al. 1979).

Distribution in Central Asia

Native in Turkmenistan, alien in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Historically, Solanum nigrum was a common weed of irrigated fields (wheat, cotton, maize, maash) in Central Asia ( Fedtschenko 1915).

Most of the major sources (e.g. Kovalevskaya 1987, Särkinen et al. 2018) do not make a distinction between the native and secondary distributions of S. nigrum because of the old age of its naturalisation in many areas. In this case, we considered type of habitat as the main distinguishing feature ( Webb 1985) and assigned the alien status to the areas with overwhelmingly predominant ruderal occurrences.

Distribution in Kyrgyzstan

Western Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan, Alay-Turkestan (Fig. 25 ).

The species was considered occurring in all parts of the country ( Spota 1960, Deza 1983), although we have seen no collections from the Eastern Tian-Shan. It was collected at altitudes between 600 and 1350 m above sea level.

Ecology

Forest margins and riversides in the native distribution area; disturbed open places, cultivated lands, ruderal places, riversides in the secondary distribution area.

The species is capable of occurring successfully at altitudes above 2500 m, thus showing a high invasive potential also in the high mountains ( Chandra Sekar et al. 2012).

Biology

Annual or short-lived perennial, with a taproot and numerous lateral roots.

Taxon discussion

Solanum pseudoflavum Pojark., with strongly reflexed calyx lobes and dark red fruits, was correctly synonymised with S. olgae Pojark. (= S. villosum Mill.) by Spota (1960) and Kovalevskaya (1987) but misplaced to the synonymy of S. nigrum by Särkinen et al. (2018). The latter synonymisation was adopted by PoWo ( PoWo 2021).

Notes

Fruits and leaves of this species are not edible; reports of their use in Africa (e.g. Bvenura and Afolayan 2014, Essack et al. 2017) refer to Solanum scabrum Mill. and S. villosum Mill. ( Särkinen et al. 2018, Sangija et al. 2021).

Solanum nigrum is likely an evolutionary derivative of S. villosum Mill. ( Poczai and Hyvönen 2010); the distribution areas of both species are largely shared ( Särkinen et al. 2018). Based on the presumably cultigenous origin of S. villosum (as explained under that species), we assume that the dispersal of S. nigrum was also partly human-mediated and this species was an unwanted component of the cultivation of S. villosum .

Introduction to Kyrgyzstan

Period of introduction

Archaeophyte.

This species was known from the whole of Central Asia from the beginning of its botanical exploration ( Fedtschenko and Fedtschenko 1913). The time of its introduction is uncertain but is most likely Neolithic, as the species was recorded among the earliest and most common weeds in the early Neolithic of Germany ( Rösch 1998).

Pathways of introduction

Transport - Contaminant: Seed contaminant.

The species is a noxious weed of gardens and fields ( Deza 1983), also occurring in ruderal places ( Spota 1960). It is capable of infesting a large variety of crops, including wheat and melons (e.g. Cherniakovskaya 1935, Ogg et al. 1981). We assume that Solanum nigrum arrived to the territory as a weed of historical crops (possibly of S. villosum ).

Further dispersal occurs with water, contaminated seed and soil.

Invasion status

Naturalised, invasive. The species has been a noxious weed of all crops in Kyrgyzstan ( Deza 1983) and remains common to date.

Evidence of impact

Agriculture - major impact (noxious weed of all crops, in fields and gardens). Native ecosystems - minor impact (occurring along streams and water bodies near populated places). Urban areas - major impact (ruderal occurrence).

Trend

Stable (observed).

Figures

Figure 24. Solanum nigrum in flower and fruit, Almeria, Spain (photo by Francisco Rodriguez, 16 April 2021). Source: https: // www. inaturalist. org / observations / 74174039 (iNaturalist 2021).

Figure 25. Recorded distribution of Solanum nigrum in Kyrgyzstan.