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Solanum bahamense L.
Bahama Nightshade
Cankerberry
Florida native
A rare shrub of coastal hammocks and dunes from Martin County south to the Keys, and including the mainland portion of Monroe County. The range of this species includes the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Grand Cayman.
This unarmed plant with woody stems may grow to 2 m (~ 6') tall. The leaves are alternate, entire, oblong or lanceolate, and covered with minute, coarse hairs. The leaves can be up to 10 cm (4 in.) long and 3cm (1-1/4 in.) wide. The flowers, with a form typical of the nightshades, have five narrow blue petals. The fruit hangs in rows, initially green, then maturing to a bright red berry.
Some divide this species into three varieties, in which case the plants pictured here, having leaves longer than 2.5 cm, would be of the variety luxurians and would be a Florida endemic found only in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
Solanum bahamense is a member of the Solanaceae - Potato family.
Other species of the Solanum genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Solanum americanum - AMERICAN BLACK NIGHTSHADE
Solanum capsicoides - SODA APPLE
Solanum carolinense var. carolinense - CAROLINA HORSENETTLE
Solanum chenopodioides - BLACK NIGHTSHADE
Solanum dulcamara - CLIMBING NIGHTSHADE
Solanum sisymbriifolium - STICKY NIGHTSHADE
Solanum viarum - TROPICAL SODA APPLE
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Dec 08, 2023
