| Cockroach-berry (Solanum capsicoides) Allioni, 1773 |
| Synonyms: Solanum arrebenta, Solanum bodinieri, Solanum ciliare, Solanum ciliatum, Solanum sinuatifolium, Solanum sphaerocarpum |
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Solanum capsicoides is native to the east coast of Brazil, but has been widely introduced and naturalized throughout tropical and subtropical areas of the world; considered invasive. Natural habitat included dry and moist coastal forest and thornscrub. It is a pioneer species often associated with disturbed sites, e.g., pastures, cultivated and abandoned agricultural lands, roadsides and open woodlands. S. capsicoides shows preference for sandy sites, but also grows on clayey and alkaline soils. Short-lived shrub or subshrub up to 1 m in height; stems are branched, sprawling, armed with prickles. Leaves simple, broadly ovate to suborbicular, covered with spines on both sides or unarmed; adaxial surfaces sparsely pubescent. Flowers arranged in lateral, nearly sessile, inflorescences of 1-7; five petals, white to greenish white. Fruit a globose berry, orange, 2-3.5 cm in diameter. This species is toxic to many species of mammals.
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