Wild potato

Solanum fendleri A. Gray; S. fendleri subsp. arizonicum Hawkes; S. fendleri var. texense Correll; S. leptosepalum Correll

Herbs, perennial, erect, bearing tubers to 3 cm, unarmed, to 0.7 m, sparsely to densely pubes­cent to strigose, hairs un­branched, eglandular. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1.5–4 cm, with pair of entire lunate pseudostipules at base; blade compound, elliptic to ovate, 7.5–20 × 3.5–8 cm, margins divided with 1–4 pairs of leaflets, these sometimes interspersed with smaller, interjected leaflets, lowermost leaflets some­times greatly reduced in size, leaflet margins entire, base cuneate to cordate. Inflorescences terminal, extra-axillary or leaf-opposed, generally forked or 3-fid, 3–26-flowered, to 10 cm. Pedicels articulated near middle, 1.1–3.7 cm in flower and fruit. Flowers radi­ally symmetric; calyx not accrescent, unarmed, 4–8 mm, lobes deltate-acuminate; corolla purple, blue, pale pink, or rarely white, pentagonal to rotate, 1.8–3.3 cm diam., with abundant interpetalar tissue; stamens equal; anthers oblong, slightly tapered, 3.5–6.5 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores that open into longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous. Berries green, sometimes with dark green stripes or white spots, globose or slightly ovoid, 0.9–1.7 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. Seeds greenish white, rounded, 1–2 mm diam., rugose. 2n = 48.

Flowering Jul–Oct(–Nov). Hillsides, stream bottoms, sandy soils, disturbed areas in grasslands, pinyon-juniper forests, alpine meadows, coniferous and deciduous forests; 1400–3100 m; Ariz., N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico.

Solanum stoloniferum is widespread in highland Mexico. Its northern range extends into New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and southwestern Texas. It is one of the most common and polymorphic species of wild potatoes in North America and Mexico.