Summary
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 1:187. 1753
Verified:
11/30/2010
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. 1970
- D'Arcy, W. G. 1974. Solanum and its close relatives in Florida. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 61:839.
- Foster, S. & J. A. Duke. A field guide to medicinal plants: Eastern/Central North America, 2nd ed. 2000
- Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2. 1991
- Grellin, J. K. & J. Philpott. A reference guide to medicinal plants. 1990
- Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
- Kartesz, J. T. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 1994
- Kindscher, K. Medicinal wild plants of the prairie: an ethnobotanical guide. 1992
- Kingsbury, J. M. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. 1964
- Knapp, S. & C. E. Jarvis. 1990. The typification of the names of New World Solanum species described by Linnaeus. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 104:329.
- Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. 1985
- Lawrence, G. H. M. 1960. The cultivated species of Solanum. Baileya 8:30.
- Levin, R. A. et al. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships among the "spiny solanums" Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum, Solanaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 93:157-169.
- Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
- Martin, W. C. & C. R. Hutchins. A flora of New Mexico. 1980
- McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). Flora of the Great Plains. 1986
- McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
- McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
- Moerman, D. Native American ethnobotany, ed. 5. 1998
- Nee, M. 1999. Synopsis of Solanum in the New World. Solanaceae IV: advances in biology and utilization. 1999 318.
- PBI Solanum Project. Solanaceae source: a global taxonomic resource for the nightshade family (on-line resource).
- Pearson, R. C. 1988. Compendium of grape diseases. The disease compendium series. 1973- 51.
- Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
- Scoggan, H. J. The flora of Canada, 4 vol. 1978-1979
- Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
- Seymour, F. The flora of New England. 1969
- Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran desert. 1964
- Symon, D. E. 1981. A revision of the genus Solanum in Australia. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4:152.
- Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
Common names
English
ball nightshade – ball-nettle – Carolina horse-nettle – horse-nettle –
Distribution
| order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Eastern Canada | Canada | Ontario | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Illinois | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Iowa | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Kansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Minnesota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Nebraska | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Oklahoma | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | South Dakota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Wisconsin | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Connecticut | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Indiana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Massachusetts | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Michigan | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | New York | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Ohio | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Pennsylvania | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Rhode Island | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | Vermont | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northeastern U.S.A. | United States | West Virginia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | Sonora | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | New Mexico | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | Texas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Alabama | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Arkansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Florida | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Georgia | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Kentucky | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Louisiana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Maryland | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Mississippi | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | North Carolina | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | South Carolina | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Tennessee | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Virginia | |
| 4 | Naturalized | | | | | |
Native
Northern America
-
EASTERN CANADA:
Canada [Ontario]
-
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin]
-
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
-
NORTHERN MEXICO:
Mexico [Sonora]
-
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [New Mexico, Texas]
-
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
Naturalized
()
Economic Uses
| Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
| Harmful organism host | crop diseases | | Pearson, R. C. 1988. Compendium of grape diseases. The disease compendium series. 1973- 51. |
| Medicines | folklore | | McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 |
| Vertebrate poisons | mammals | | Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. 1985 |
| Weed | potential seed contaminant | | Symon, D. E. 1981. A revision of the genus Solanum in Australia. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4:152. |
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System.
2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network
(GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://ausgenebank.agriculture.vic.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=100938.
Accessed 16 December 2025.