Common name:
Wild potato
Family:
Scientific name:
Solanum jamesii
Main flower color:
Range:
The Four Corners states and far west Texas
Height:
Usually up to 1 foot tall
Habitat:
Coniferous and oak woodland, grassland, scrubland; 5,000 to 8,500 feet
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately divided into 7 or 9 oblong or lanceolate leaflets (less often 5, 11 or 13). Hairy
Season:
July to October
Flowers of solanum jamesii form small clusters, branching from the top of the relatively short stems, which bear pinnate leaves at alternate intervals. The flower corolla is white, divided into five pointed lobes, which have irregular edges. The tips of the lobes are covered by tiny hairs. At the middle of the flower is a fused group of five thick yellow stamens, a quarter of an inch in length, centered on a protruding, greenish style about twice as long. When mature, the corolla lobes angle backwards. Roots of young plants are edible, but all parts above ground are poisonous.
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