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SOLANACEAE

NIGHTSHADE FAMILY

Michael Nee

Annual to shrub
Leaves generally simple, generally alternate, generally petioled; stipules 0; blade entire to deeply lobed
Inflorescence various
Flower bisexual; calyx lobes generally 5; corolla ± radial, cylindric to rotate, lobes generally 5; stamens 5, alternate corolla lobes; ovary superior, generally 2-chambered, style 1
Fruit: berry or capsule, 2–5-chambered
Genera in family: 75 genera, 3000 species: worldwide, especially ± tropical; many alien weeds in CA; many cultivated for food, drugs, or ornamental (potato, tomato, peppers, tobacco, petunia); many TOXIC.

LYCIUM

BOX THORN

Shrub 1–4 m, generally with leafy thorns, glabrous, hairy, or glandular
Leaves alternate or clustered, entire, small, fleshy
Inflorescence: clusters; flowers 1–several
Flower: calyx cylindric to bell-shaped, lobes 2–5; corolla funnel-shaped or rotate, whitish, greenish, or purplish, lobes 4–5; stamens attached at different levels in corolla
Fruit: berry, 2-chambered, dry to fleshy
Seeds 2–many
Species in genus: ± 100 species: warm, dry areas worldwide
Etymology: (Latin: Lycia, ancient country of Asia Minor)
Reference: [Hitchcock 1932 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 19:179–374]

Introduced

L. barbarum L.

MATRIMONY VINE

Plant glabrous; thorns 0 or short; branches curved or arched
Leaf 2–6 cm, (ob)lanceolate
Flower: calyx 3–4 mm, bell-shaped, lobes generally 2–3, 1–2 mm; corolla funnel-shaped, lavender to purple, fading tan, tube 4–6 mm, ± abruptly expanded to throat, lobes spreading, < tube; stamens ± equal, attached at middle of tube, hair-tufted at base
Fruit 1 cm, fleshy, bright red
Seeds 10–20
Ecology: Waste places, fields
Elevation: < 1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Sierra Nevada, Great Central Valley, South Coast, Modoc Plateau, expected elsewhere
Distribution outside California: formerly cultivated; native to Eurasia
Synonyms: L. halimifolium J.S. Mill
Plants with corolla tube < lobes and ± hidden by calyx are L. chinense J.S. Mill., waif in ScV, c SNF.

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