Much like no. 2 [Solanum nigrum L.]; stem softly spreading-hairy, the hairs flattened, viscid, often gland-tipped; lvs evidently hairy along the main veins beneath, sometimes over the surfaces as well; cal viscid hairy, accrescent, at maturity 4-6(-9) mm and cupping the lower half of the greenish or yellowish fr, the lobes evidently connate below; 2n=24. A weed in disturbed habitats, native to S. Amer., now widely intr. elsewhere in the world, and sometimes found in our range. Recent work suggests that the name S. sarrachoides should be restricted to a S. Amer. sp. with even more accrescent cal. Our plants would then take the name S. physalifolium Rusby.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
